Football Federation President: Women's Presence in Stadiums is Not a Priority

Mehdi Taj, the President of the Football Federation of Iran, stated on Tuesday, September 18, at the "Islamic Coalition Sports Working Group": "Our stadium structures are not suitable for accommodating women. Moreover, this issue is currently not a priority for women and society." According to a report on Wednesday from the public relations of the Islamic Coalition Party, Mr. Taj emphasized: "Despite some irregularities in the stadiums, we must work harder to minimize the problems of the stadiums." These remarks come at a time when the issue of Iranian women's presence in sports stadiums has been raised in Iranian media in recent months. In the latest incident, a number of women who had purchased tickets online for the Iran-Syria match were left behind the gates of Azadi Stadium on the day of the game and were not allowed entry, while Syrian women supporting the rival team were permitted to enter the stadium. Following this incident, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs wrote on her Telegram channel that during the football match between the Iran and Syria teams, Iranian women faced "discrimination" compared to Syrian women. Ms. Ebtekar also mentioned that she had discussed this issue with Masoud Soltani Far, the Minister of Sports and Youth. Although she did not refer to the details of this conversation, she stated that "consultations are underway to coordinate with cultural, law enforcement, and executive authorities to resolve this issue." Parvaneh Salahshouri, the head of the Women’s Fraction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also announced before the match that she had received permission to enter the stadium and watch the game, but stated that until the possibility of women's presence in stadiums is ensured, she prefers not to attend any stadium as a member of parliament. This reformist parliamentarian emphasized the pursuit of allowing women in stadiums and suggested that women be allowed to attend one of the capital's derby matches on a trial basis to clarify the dimensions of this issue. "Prevent women's entry into stadiums" On Tuesday, the website Entekhab reported that Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani opposed the entry of women into stadiums during a meeting with the legal advisor to the President and stated, "This must be prevented." According to the report, Ayatollah Gorgani expressed that he believes "such actions are disrespectful to the blood of thousands of martyrs" and emphasized: "The presence of women in stadiums will create many problems." Opposition to women's presence in stadiums comes at a time when Mohammad Reza Davarzani, the Deputy Minister of Professional and Championship Sports, had previously announced the roofing of part of Azadi Stadium for "women's presence." Earlier, Mehdi Taj, the President of the Football Federation of Iran, stated in an interview with ISNA that the structural and physical readiness for women's presence in stadiums is not available. The prohibition of women's presence in stadiums persists despite the fact that, according to Tayebe Siawoshi, the Deputy of the Women’s Fraction in Parliament, "there is no legal prohibition for women to enter stadiums." In recent months, there has been a wave of requests from Iranian football players and veterans for facilitating women's entry into stadiums. Iranian women have been striving for years to enter stadiums, especially football stadiums, but government officials continue to deny them access to sports arenas.