The head of football’s world governing body, FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has announced that Iran has assured him of allowing women to attend soccer matches soon.
Infantino met with Iranian leaders, including President Hassan Rouhani during a visit to Tehran to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Iran’s football federation.
Here he attended a “men only” football match which reportedly drew ire of rights activists.
The FIFA president, without naming any official source or name, said he was “promised” that Iranian women will soon have access to football stadiums.
Iran has barred women from attending men’s football events since the Iran Revolution of 1979.
Iranian women are, however, allowed to attend female football matches.
Recently, Iran detained 35 women for trying to attend a soccer match between Tehran teams Esteqlal and Persepolis.
The reports quoted Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman, Sayyed Salman Samani as saying then that women were not arrested, but rather “transferred” to a “proper place”.
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