PARIS
\nAn Iranian beach soccer player was Monday applauded on social media but risked sanctions at home after an apparent gesture at an international tournament in solidarity with the anti-regime protest movement.
\nThe Iranian team on Sunday won the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup in Dubai 2-1 against Brazil thanks to a goal from Saeed Piramoun.
\nRather than celebrating his strike, Piramoun stopped and made a clear scissor-like gesture above his head with his fingers to mimic cutting his hair, according to several videos posted on social media.
\nHair cutting, in and outside Iran, has become a symbol of solidarity with ongoing protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by morality police in mid-September for allegedly flouting strict dress rules for women.
\nThe beach soccer team had already been under scrutiny after apparently not singing the Iranian national anthem before their semi-final, images showed.
\nThat gesture prompted state television to cut the live-stream, TV channels based outside Iran said.
\nAnd the team did not celebrate when awarded the cup for winning the title on Sunday, instead standing sternly with their arms crossed. Piramoun\u2019s haircut gesture immediately prompted a cascade of memes on social media, where the player was applauded for his courage.
\n\u201cThis game and this win may be forgotten, but this gesture cannot be forgotten,\u201d tweeted former Iranian international player Mehrdad Pooladi. \u201cMore important than the championship was the honour you showed.\u201d
\n\u201cAn Iranian national team with honour,\u201d tweeted former Iranian footballer and ex-Bayern Munich star Ali Karimi. An impassioned supporter of the protests, he also posted a video of Piramoun\u2019s gesture.
\nWithout naming Piramoun, Iran\u2019s football federation said it would discipline all those deemed to have failed to keep politics away from the playing field.
\n\u201cBased on the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and FIFA regarding avoiding political behaviour in sport, those who have not followed professional and sporting ethics must be treated in accordance with the rules,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nNormally Iranian sports teams who are victorious abroad are given heroes\u2019 welcomes at airports full of TV crews.
\nBut images posted online by TV channels outside Iran showed frustrated journalists being denied access by security to the terminal.
\nThe Iran Wire website said that uniformed forces had taken the players away immediately after they exited the airport, and that some may have been taken to the football federation.
\nThe newspaper \u2018Iran\u2019, a state-run daily, criticised the Emirati police for taking \u201cno measure\u201d against spectators who, it reported, had chanted \u201canti-Islamic republic\u201d slogans after the match.
\nDubai is home to a major community of Iranian exiles, and in September Iran welcomed back the UAE ambassador after a six-year downgrading of ties.
\nBut the paper said: \u201cIf this country (UAE) does not react appropriately, it will have to accept the consequences of this action that is hostile to Iran.\u201d
\nSports has become a hugely sensitive arena in the protests, especially ahead of Iran\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s football World Cup in Qatar.
\nSports climber Elnaz Rekabi caused a sensation last month when she climbed without a headscarf \u2013 obligatory for all Iranian women even while competing abroad \u2013 at a competition in South Korea.
\nOn her return to Iran she apologised and said the hijab had fallen off by accident. But activists argued her gesture was deliberate and she had been pressured by the authorities into expressing regret.
\nEarlier this month, top Tehran football side Esteghlal also refused to celebrate after winning the Iranian Super Cup with its footballer Siavash Yazdani in a post match interview dedicating the victory to \u201cwomen and those who lost loved ones\u201d.
\nMaking no reference to the controversy, President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday congratulated the beach soccer team for showing \u201can example of a brilliant and strong Iran on the international arena.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS An Iranian beach soccer player was Monday applauded on social media but risked sanctions at home after an apparent gesture at an international tournament in solidarity with the anti-regime protest movement. The Iranian team on Sunday won the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup in Dubai 2-1 against Brazil thanks to a goal from Saeed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-294072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n