Iranian women allowed to watch football match

Iranian authorities had publicly contradicted each other on whether FIFA and AFC’s letter made it compulsory for them to allow women into stadiums.

Officials allocated 2,000 tickets for women spectators as Iran defeated Iraq 1-0 in Tehran to secure a place in Qatar.

Videos and images from the Azadi stadium in the Iranian capital on Thursday showed hundreds of women – adorned in their teams’ colours and carrying flags – entering the stadium through a separate gate from the men.

Thursday’s match came after international football’s governing body FIFA and its Asian counterpart, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), called on Iranian authorities to allow women into league matches in a joint letter earlier this month.

The female supervisors – who were wearing head-to-toe gowns – were stationed at the entrance to guide the fans in, and were heard asking them to put on headscarves as they entered the stadium. The female supporters were seated separately from the men.

COVID-19 guidelines from the Ministry of Health still call for football stadiums to be filled to a maximum 30 percent of their overall capacity. The flagship Azadi stadium seats more than 80,000 spectators. ( Aljazeera)