As Iran’s national anthem began to trumpet around Gold Coast Stadium on Monday night, members of an Iranian fan group who had gathered near the halfway line began to unfurl red, white and green flags.
They weren’t the flags of their home nation, though. At least, not the nation they want to remember.
“The flag is the Lion and Sun flag: our last known flag before the Islamic regime took over in 1979 and invented the new flag,” says Ara Rasuli, who was in the crowd.
“It is our national flag. The current regime does not represent us, and therefore their flag does not represent us. It doesn’t represent Iran.”
Recently revived as a symbol of opposition to the current regime, they knew they would probably be caught when waving them in the stands at Iran’s opening game against South Korea. But they also knew how much it meant, especially for the players standing silently on the pitch below them, defiantly refusing to sing.
Since arriving in Australia against a backdrop of violence and terror back home, Iran’s players have been wrapped in a cone of silence.
Requests for media interviews have been shut down and information about their open training sessions were removed from the official tournament schedule. Even mandatory press conferences have been cagey, with an AFC media officer allowing just three “football” questions in each of the team’s pre-match appearances.
Their silence is understandable given the very real and imminent threats reportedly faced by players and staff who speak out against the regime. And so, in the vacuum of their silence, it has been the Iranian diaspora – the fans – who are speaking out.
Ahead of Thursday’s second group-stage match against the Matildas, a demonstration is being organised outside of Gold Coast Stadium by Iranians wanting to draw attention to the oppressive nature of the regime, not just back in their home but also here in Australia.
“These women are prisoners,” says Cyrus Jones, a human rights activist who will be attending the match. “Iranian security is up on their floor [of the hotel] at night. They can’t leave their rooms. They can’t use the public bathrooms. They’re monitored when they go for breakfast, when they get on the bus. They’re monitored in a way no other players from other teams are.
“This is happening on Australia’s watch. I want to put a mirror up to our government and the AFC and Local Organising Committee. They have no clue. The Matildas can walk around just fine, do whatever they want. The Iranian players can’t. It’s like they’ve put regime rules into the hotel and the stadium. They don’t have any freedom.
“We can’t say we’re promoting the women’s game while we’re watching oppression happen in our own country, in a tournament that we’re hosting and promoting and making money from.”
The players’ only power has been refusal, with footage of their silence during the anthem making headlines around the world. By contrast, the 90 minutes of singing from their fans only a few metres away became their de facto voice.
“We kept saying ‘Iranian female team, come and stay here!’ and ‘down with Islamic Republic!’” Ara said.
“Another chant we said was: ‘Take off your hijab!’ But the police came to me and said the security for the Iran team told us to stop singing it as it upsets the players. But obviously the players can’t talk, they can’t say anything, so who is asking us to stop this?
“They’re under a lot of oppression. They’re not allowed to talk, they’re not allowed to go on their phones. It’s crazy, the amount of pressure they’re under, I doubt it comes from them.
“We want the regime to change in Iran, we want the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] to be taken down. With any chance and any platform we get, we will make sure to say it out loud.”
She encouraged Matildas fans to show support for the Iranian players – not the regime – by joining in with their chants on Thursday night, which they will translate into English for the local crowd, and cheering for the players regardless of how they perform.
“The message for the players is clear,” Ara said. “We support them. We stand up for them. I know some of them are under threat to their life, so we will do anything in our power to support them.
“People watching might think Iran is not a good team, but what you need to understand is that they are under oppression. They lost families, they lost loved ones, they lost team members, referees, friends.
“They are under such emotional pressure and yet they are standing here right now playing a game in the humidity of the Gold Coast with their hijab on. It’s horrible. We’re standing up for the world against this big terrorisation.”