They see the team as representing the regime rather than the people of Iran. Some in Iran went as far as celebrating Iran’s 6-2 defeat in its opening World Cup match against England in Qatar on Monday, posts on social media showed. The Iranian players chose not to sing their country’s national anthem at the match against England, in an apparent show of support for the protests. But the gesture was largely dismissed as too little, too late by many Iranians on social media and failed to win back their support. The protests sparked by Amini’s death have become one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979, with demonstrators calling for regime change. At least 416 people, including 51 children and 27 women, have been killed by security forces in the protests, Oslo-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.
