According to the Fars sports correspondent, the campaign “Show a Red Card to Israel” has been held in 23 countries and 85 stadiums worldwide in support of the Palestinian people.
However, in a strange move last night during the match between Iran’s national football team and North Korea, Palestinian flags were removed from the stands by special unit forces.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, numerous campaigns have emerged among football fans in Europe and across the world against the Zionist regime.
Celtic fans in Scotland were among the pioneers in supporting the Palestinian people. In their Champions League match last season against Atletico Madrid, the entire stadium was decorated with Palestinian flags.
UEFA fined Celtic $19,000 for this act, but in response, the Scottish fans launched a campaign and raised $150,000. They paid the fine and donated the rest to aid the people of Gaza.
These days, supporting the Palestinian cause in the world of sports has become a human duty. So much so that Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s coach, said: “What we are seeing in Gaza is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing.”
While following the law by the special unit is admirable, blindly enforcing it, especially in a way that ignores the red lines of the Islamic Republic regarding support for Palestine is not appropriate.
This move by the Football Federation to blindly comply with FIFA’s rules suggests an effort to secularize and weaken Iran’s football stance on important global events.
The Iranian Football Federation quickly removed the Palestinian flags after a warning from the FIFA observer. Meanwhile, in places like Scotland, England, Italy, the U.S., and France, non-Muslim fans with no religious or moral obligations toward Gaza are paying a price out of sheer human responsibility.