Differing Reactions of Athletes and Champions to the Death of Ebrahim Raisi

Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic and his companions in a helicopter crash in the forests of northwestern Iran, athletes and champions both inside and outside the country expressed various reactions on their social media. Rasoul Khadem, a world wrestling champion, shared a text from the history of Bayhaqi from the personal page of Mohammad Reza Shafiei Kadkani, writing: 'This transient world has no permanence, and we are in a caravanserai, and we go after each other, so one should live in such a way that good prayers are made for them after death.' Ali Karimi, by sharing a famous poem by Ahmad Shamlou, wrote: 'Stay so that the curse of hell does what it will to you, for the mourning mothers - grieving the most beautiful children of the sun and wind - have not yet lifted their heads from their prayer rugs.' Saeed Afkari, brother of Navid Afkari, a wrestler who was executed during Raisi's presidency over the judiciary, wrote: 'I have not seen my mother this happy in years.' He continued: 'I hope you have at least experienced a fraction of the pain we endured for even a moment.' Masoud Mojdehi, a former national football player, shared an image of a helicopter entangled in the hair of Iranian girls, reposting a story about an old man who was happy to hear the repeated news of the death of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, stating: 'Hearing the news of the death of tyrannical rulers is pleasurable.' Milad Zeynidpour, a former national footballer, wrote: 'Oh, the families in mourning and the people.' Referee Mohammad Reza Faghani reacted: 'What have you done that your death is so sweet?' Many athletes like Kasra Mahdipour, Salar Gholami, Sardar Pashayi, Vahid Sarlak, Majid Fallah, and Kimia Alizadeh, a national taekwondo champion in Bulgaria, shared a ghazal by Hafez that Raisi had recited during a meeting with Erdogan, writing: 'Be happy that the tyrant did not find a way to the home.' In Iran, the wife of Mohammad Hossein Moradmand, an Esteghlal player, reported being threatened with a summons and interrogation for sharing the same line from Hafez's poem. Shaghayegh Mohammadi simply wrote: 'Be happy that the tyrant did not find a way to the home.' In her second story, she protested her summons to the Ministry of Intelligence, asking: 'For what crime and sin have you threatened me with a summons and interrogation?' She stated: 'In respect to my daughter and all the daughters of my land, all the mourning mothers of my homeland, and the spilled blood of the youth of my homeland, I stand firm and have no wish other than freedom, which is the right of all humans. Without a shred of doubt, I will be present tomorrow at the time and address determined by you.' Social media users also reacted differently, referencing Hassan Yazdani, the Olympic and world wrestling champion, and Raisi's welcome during his recent trip to Mazandaran. On the other hand, athletes close to the government, such as Mehdi Torabi, Nima Nakisa, Ebrahim Shakouri, Kamal Kamiyabi-Nia, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Ansari, Vahid Shamsaei, the national futsal coach, and Salar Aghapour, futsal player, along with most federation presidents and club CEOs, used the phrase 'condolences' alongside photos of Ebrahim Raisi. Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the government, and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic, along with their entourage, were killed in an air accident in East Azerbaijan on Sunday evening. Kianoush Razaghi commented: 'A phenomenon called jurisprudence produces others like Ebrahim Raisi.' According to Saeed Dehghan, expressing joy over Ebrahim Raisi's death is not a crime under Islamic Republic laws. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam stated: 'Ebrahim Raisi was among those who committed crimes against humanity.' There were street celebrations among Iranians residing in Toronto following Ebrahim Raisi's death. Videos showed ambulances being dispatched to the site of the helicopter accident and footage of Ebrahim Raisi and his companions in the helicopter recorded hours before the accident.