World Cup 2022: Iranians cheer for USA over home country amid ongoing protests

Source article

I debated putting this thread in one of the sports forums, but that would ignore the observations I am interested in exploring.

Warning: I cannot speak about the players, stats, the competition, or the game itself.

I'm more interested in this:

Amid protests in Iran that have lasted close to three months, many Iranians were rooting for the United States to defeat their own home country in Tuesday's World Cup match.
...
However, some protesters feel an Iranian loss or draw will now hurt the regime on the world stage and give fuel to the protesters' fight.
...
Ali Safavi, a member of the foreign affairs committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, released the following statement:

"The jubilant reaction across Iran over the regime soccer team’s defeat tonight reflects first and foremost the degree to which the Iranian people loath and detest the ruling mullahs and want to see it overthrown. They knew that the regime was trying to exploit the presence of its team in the World Cup to overshadow the ruthless manner with which it has cracked down on the nationwide uprising, which has left 660 protesters, including at least 60 children, dead and 30,000 (arrested). At no time in its 43-year rule, has the regime been so isolated in the eyes of the Iranian people who are determined as ever to topple it."

It occurs to me that rather than celebrating the sport for its presumptive goal of encouraging relations between people, this could make international competitions of this nature devolve into raucous platforms for public redress. Such things are doomed in the "let's make a law because this makes me feel [fill in the blank]" or "let's not participate" world we live in (thereby destroying the foundation of international "sportsmanship" as a "human endeavor.")



Or am I overthinking this?

a reply to: Maxmars

American Jesse Owen's ruined Adolf Hitler's hope/plan to prove the third Reich's superiority to the world by winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics, beating out Germany's supposedly super Aryans.

International sports have long been played by geopolitical manipulators.

I watched the whole game it was actially quite lively. Most soccer games bore me because they just keep passing it back and forth in a rhythym that kind of induces a trancelike state . this game was aggressive as heck though, players were frequently all up in each others space folks going down like crazy.

A lot of that was iran traying to get hit so they can take their chances with penalty shots. Thankfully our boys got some hard heads, because they just kept headbutting back every long field kick towards our goal.

I dont usually get very excited abiut most sports games, but this game was exciting to me. They both played very hard but it was clear the Iran team was being encouraged to enable fouls for penalty shots because they kept falling into hits intentionally from my observations. I bet they actually would have done better if they just played real soccer instead of trying to get penalty shots for a tie game.

I hope we win saturday against netherlands.

Am I the only one who thinks the Iranian audience was not cheering so much for the US but against their country's team?

I get it - Football/Soccer is a fascinating game. But I wonder about the use of the game to protest.

PS - Jessie Owens competed and won against other athletes (despite scads of propaganda demonizing him,) he didn't actually protest. I'm sure other athletes must have in the past... but this seems more "populist" and less ideological.

a reply to: Maxmars

We need to offer those Iranians U.S. citizenship, if they want.

And send our anti-MAGA folks to Iran.

A Swap that will be good for all involved!

a reply to: Maxmars

I agree..

Politics and Religion should have no place in Sporting Events

Stay Safe

Riouz

a reply to: Maxmars

How many videos of this? those vids seem like "Regime Change Vids"

Iranian audience was not cheering so much for the US but against their country's team?

Its very unlikely within Iran there is a large support for regime change. dont forget you had John Bolton, among others that had being trying to push for a regime change in Iran for many years now.

a reply to: Maxmars
Your source is FOX News, FOX news is the biggest NeoCon/Interventionist and a network that loves John Bolton.
Fake Headline is fake headline.

Just like they did such headlines with regime change on Libya.


They still have a few billions left for regime changes..

originally posted by: vNex92
a reply to: Maxmars

Its very unlikely within Iran there is a large support for regime change. dont forget you had John Bolton, among others that had being trying to push for a regime change in Iran for many years now.

True but, that "we" want regime change really can't fly in "normal world" can it? Only in "political world."

This could all be theater - God knows we have seen it before...

It's just a shame we can have nice things anymore.

True world athletic competition - now gone forever.

a reply to: vNex92

Does that mean this didn't happen? That would be relevant if I was talking about FOX or Bolton.. but who cares about those guys?

a reply to: Maxmars
I had seen a headline where you had this Canadian whose wife is supposedly a Iranian and went to Qatar for the world cup just to protest?

It's just a shame we can have nice things anymore.

I agree its also shame what is happening to the sports world currently.
How political it has become.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: Maxmars

We need to offer those Iranians U.S. citizenship, if they want.

And send our anti-MAGA folks to Iran.

A Swap that will be good for all involved!

So if they are not in line with your personal beliefs send them to a hostile nation

Now where have i heard complaints that is what democrats do to maga people .....

Oh yes on ATS, when will Americans learn that politics is a load of BS and to truly wake up you have to unplug from the propaganda machines and stop listening to all politicians

This will be nice to quote you on next time republicans are being persecuted, never thought I would see you aligning with democrats yet here you are