World Cup: Iran team decline to sing national anthem in apparent support for domestic protests

Iran’s World Cup football team stayed silent as the national anthem was played before their opening World Cup match, declining to sing before the kick-off against England. During the week, their captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh had explained that the players would decide “collectively” whether or not to sing the anthem as a sign of support for the victims of the harshly repressed protests in their country. The players kept their faces totally impassive, while on the bench a member of the delegation sang. Iranian state television did not show the players lined up for the anthem before the match got …

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