Iran: For the first time in 40 years, 500 women watch a men's football league game in Tehran.

 However, just 500 women were there when the game really started since Iran's government only permitted a few women to purchase tickets. Many of the players' spouses were among them.

They carried the Esteghlal Tehran flag over their necks, wore blue and white hats, and some even had the numbers of their favourite players painted on their cheeks. Many female spectators were loud outside the stadium prior to the start of Esteghlal and Mes Kerman's match on Thursday, August 25.

After all, this was the first league football game that women had been permitted to attend in more than 40 years. The Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry had just 24 hours earlier declared that roughly 28,000 tickets would be made accessible to women.

They carried the Esteghlal Tehran flag over their necks, wore blue and white hats, and some even had the numbers of their favourite players painted on their cheeks. Many female spectators were loud outside the stadium prior to the start of Esteghlal and Mes Kerman's match on Thursday, August 25.

After all, this was the first league football game that women had been permitted to attend in more than 40 years. The Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry had just 24 hours earlier declared that roughly 28,000 tickets would be made accessible to women.

However, just 500 women were there when the game really started since Iran's government only permitted a few women to purchase tickets. Many of the players' spouses were among them.

"Sad and envious"

Other women, like Esteghlal fan Sara (name changed to protect her safety) of OpenStadiums, an organisation that advocates for better access for women in Iran to sporting events, had no hope of securing a ticket.

You have no idea how disappointed and envious I am that I was unable to purchase tickets, Sara told DW. "They sold so few tickets, it was shocking. They distributed many tickets to family members.

Maedeh Alagheman, a sports writer who covered the game, is optimistic that things will become better in the future.

"You have to accept it in this manner for the first match by necessity, with just the 500 female spectators," she said to DW. But if it continues in forthcoming league games, it will be unacceptable.

Sahar Khodayari was a passionate supporter of Esteghlal Tehran and a fellow football aficionado. The 29-year-old disguised himself as a male in March 2019 and entered Azadi Stadium in Tehran while donning a long coat and a blue fan wig. At the time, women were prohibited from entering the stadium because the moral police who took control after Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979 believed that seeing males in shorts was sinful.

Following the game, Khodayari was apprehended and detained on suspicion of "lack of Islamic garb and resistance." After being accused with "violating the chastity legislation, immoral behaviour, and insulting the guardians of the law," she was subsequently jailed for three days.

According to Amnesty International, Khodayari's case was supposed to be decided by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran in September 2019, but this was postponed since a judge was not available. She was apparently informed, though, that she might receive a six-month jail sentence.

At this point, Khodayari made the radical decision to protest in a violent manner. She chose to stand in front of the courthouse, douse herself in gasoline, and then light herself on fire. She was severely burned and later died as a result of the burns, despite the efforts of bystanders to douse the flames.

Her hometown of Qom is where the funeral was held. Her family was not allowed to attend, and the dictatorship forbade any coverage of the funeral. But Khodayari's tale gained traction on social media. Due to the club colours of Esteghlal, which served as a symbol of protest against the mistreatment of women in Iran, she earned the nickname "Blue Girl."

"Women must be permitted to attend football games,"

FIFA, the world governing organisation of football, offered its opinion as well. A few weeks later, the then-president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), Mehdi Taj, and the organization's president, Gianni Infantino, went to Tehran for discussions.

According to a statement from the organisation, "FIFA underlined its firm and unambiguous position that women ought to be permitted to enter football events freely and that the number of women who visit the stadiums be defined by the demand, which results in ticket sales."

The statement read, "FIFA's position is unequivocal and clear: women must be permitted into football stadiums in Iran." "For every football game."

Iran's FA was previously suspended by FIFA for breaking rules.

According to Mohammad Heyrani, a former TV sports presenter on Iranian state television, "the transition committee established up by FIFA following the first suspension in 2007 intentionally misled the international governing organisation."

Heyrani said that, "contrary to FIFA's requirement, the required new version of the FFIRI laws at the time did not exclude political intervention in the federation's business."

The journalist said that the FFIRI's autonomy was never accepted by the Iranian parliament.

While the archconservative clerics had opened stadium gates for female spectators at international events in 2018, under pressure from FIFA, in April 2022 women were once more refused admission to the World Cup qualification between Iran and Lebanon despite having valid tickets. Even worse, it was claimed that pepper spray was deployed by security personnel outside the stadium against women who insisted on getting inside as promised.

Potential FIFA expulsion

FIFA once suspended the FFIRI for interfering with football-related matters. The restriction, which was put in place in 2006, was eventually lifted. Now, the FFIRI may be subject to a second ban for the same reason as well as for disobeying the rule requiring women to be admitted into stadiums.

The majority of Iranians, according to Heyrani, "would really welcome a suspension of their own FA at the moment so that the system can be substantially reformed."

Sara from OpenStadiums likewise had mixed feelings.

"People who are struggling with incredibly bad problems in the country might find hope through football," she remarked. It serves as an instrument for adjustments, we say. especially for the rights of women. Sport helps create opportunities for women in society.

Despite the fact that she didn't actually want to see the FFIRI suspended once more, she added, "you expect FIFA to react and address these human rights crimes when there are no consequences for human rights violations."

FIFA commended the presence of female fans at the stadium in response to inquiries from DW. "FIFA applauds the football and government authorities for this move in the right direction and was glad to hear that some women were allowed to watch a league game in Tehran yesterday," the organisation said.

Despite all the criticism, there was some hope for Sara and other football supporters on Thursday when 500 women attended the game.

Sara remarked, "We want (women attending matches to) become a normal thing, like going to the movies. We will undoubtedly continue to communicate with FIFA, and they will exert pressure on the Iranian FA to stand by this.