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Football

30th Mar 2022

Calls for FIFA to ban Iran after women pepper sprayed trying to enter football match

Callum Boyle

It took place while Iran played their final World Cup qualifier

Video footage has emerged of thousands of women being pepper sprayed by authorities as they tried to enter the stadium to watch Iran’s World Cup qualifier with Lebanon.

The ISNA news agency reported that roughly 2,000 women had bought tickets to see the game which Iran won 2-0 to secure their place at the finals in Qatar.

Security used pepper spray to disperse the crowds

Upon arrival, however, women were immediately refused entry to the stadium before security began to use pepper spray to disperse the crowds.

In the footage, women can be heard chanting “no to objection” and seen attempting to kick the gates of the stadium down so that they could enter.

More footage shows one man blowing cigarette smoke into the eyes of a child so that it can relieve the pain of the pepper spray.

Women have been largely prohibited from attending sports events.

The horrific scenes come just three years after the former Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, promised FIFA back in 2018 that changes would be made.