This week Dariush Mostafavi, head of the Iranian Football Federation's Appeals Committee, spoke publicly about the issue of Iranian women being turned away from football stadiums in the country. On Wednesday Mostafavi emphasized a 2018 promise reportedly made by the former president, Hassan Rouhani, that women would be allowed into sports venues. He noted that FIFA was more determined than ever to see this happen and twice, said international bodies could no longer be "lied to".
The Federation's paralysis on the issue recently led to a World Cup qualifying match with South Korea being held at Tehran's Azadi Stadium with no spectators at all, on the pretext of Covid-19. The same is now happening at Iran Pro League matches this season. The situation is fast becoming untenable, leading many to wonder: just how much longer can this go on?
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