Masoud Shojaei's Request to the President: 'Women Should Also Attend Stadiums'

The President of Iran praised the national football team's performance in their 'decisive qualification' for the 2018 World Cup in Russia during a meeting with the coaching staff and players. Hassan Rouhani referred to the national players as 'ambassadors of Iran's soft power' and highlighted the importance of football in the global community, its role in reviving national pride, and presenting a positive image of Iranians, recalling memories of the match against Argentina. The President emphasized that 'Iran can also set a new record by advancing from its group in the World Cup. We must prepare ourselves for this historic registration.' Masoud Shojaei, the captain of the national team, expressed the concerns of the coaching staff and players in the presence of the President. He called for attention to the national teams' camp and requested conditions to be created for women to watch football matches in person. However, this part of Shojaei's remarks was omitted from the report published by the presidential information website. The presidential site stated: 'Masoud Shojaei, the national team captain, considered the President's support a source of encouragement for the national team on the path to success and called for more attention from officials to address shortcomings for achieving greater successes.' Given that most media outlets publish the original report verbatim, this paragraph has been repeated in some media. ISNA news agency also stated: 'The quote attributed to Masoud Shojaei regarding allowing women into the stadium was not published in this news agency. It is clear that ISNA only takes responsibility for news published in its official output.' Subsequently, a recording of Shojaei was released, recorded on a mobile phone after the meeting. Shojaei emphasized: 'I hope Mr. Rouhani pursues the entry of women into stadiums with intensity and seriousness, and given the flood of enthusiasm we see among women, we should consider building a 200,000-seat stadium.' However, the main remarks recorded in the presence of Mr. Rouhani have not been published yet. While, as usual, multiple cameras recorded the meeting. The statements of Carlos Queiroz and the Minister of Sports are available, but the comments of the captain of the Iranian national football team are not seen in the visual reports that have been published so far. The request of the national team captain from the President has received widespread attention on social media. Some users questioned whether it is possible to hope for effective and practical action for women's presence in stadiums when even the request for women's entry to football stadiums is censored.