Zarghami: If FIFA Hadn't Insisted, We Wouldn't Have Allowed Women to Enter Stadiums

Ezzatollah Zarghami, a minister in Ebrahim Raisi's government and former head of IRIB, acknowledged in an interview that the Islamic Republic's government only allowed limited attendance of women in football stadiums due to pressure from FIFA. Zarghami, who previously held the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, stated in an interview published on Friday, January 12, that went viral on social media: "Why lie? If FIFA hadn't insisted, we wouldn't have allowed women to go to the stadiums." The presence of women in stadiums to watch football matches has been a significant issue in Iran in recent years. FIFA has been requesting Iran to allow women into stadiums for six years, but the Iranian Football Federation and other security and law enforcement agencies have evaded this order under the pretext of lacking "necessary infrastructure." However, following FIFA's ruling, these agencies agreed to allow limited attendance of women in stadiums for some matches. Zarghami's comments indicate that only the insistence of this international legal authority has enabled women in Iran to attend stadiums, albeit in limited numbers. The FIFA president described the presence of women in the "Naghsh-e Jahan" stadium in Isfahan as a "transformation." Zarghami's acknowledgment of the need for pressure from FIFA comes after the FIFA president praised Iranian officials for allowing tens of thousands of female fans to attend one of the most important matches in Iran's Premier League between Sepahan and Persepolis at the end of December. In the last week of December, during the match between Persepolis and Sepahan, women were not allowed broad attendance in stadiums as before, but only women were allowed to attend the match between Sepahan and Persepolis. This decision was made and implemented after fans of Sepahan chanted insulting and gendered slogans against female Persepolis fans in the previous match between the two teams at Azadi Stadium in Tehran. The Iranian Football Federation fined both clubs after this incident and ordered that their next match should only be held with female fans present. Since the 1979 revolution and in line with the Islamic Republic's gender segregation policies, women have been banned from attending stadiums and watching men's matches. However, the self-immolation of Sahar Khodayari, known as "Blue Girl," in September 2019, who faced legal action for trying to watch her favorite team, Esteghlal Tehran, marked a turning point in four decades of Iranian women's efforts to enter stadiums. A month later, in October 2019, amid protests and public pressure, Iranian officials issued selective entry permits for women at an official match.