Iran Arrests Top Footballer Accused Of 'Spreading Propaganda Against The State'

The Iranian team is already involved in a controversy after it failed to sing the national anthem before its game against England at the World Cup.

Iran on Thursday arrested a 35-year-old football player accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and looking to undermine the national World Cup team.

Voria Ghafouri, who was part of the national football team and headed the Tehran club Esteghlal, has remained vocal about the rights of Iranian Kurds, demanding the government on social media to stop the killing of Kurdish people, reported the Guardian. Earlier, the country's top footballer was detained for criticising the former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif.

Iran is going to play against Wales on Friday. The Iranian team is already involved in a controversy after it failed to sing the national anthem before its game against England at the World Cup.

The footballer was detained after a training session with his club Foolad Khuzestan on charges of having “tarnished the reputation of the national team and spread propaganda against the state”, the Fars new agency reported.

Ghafouri is accused of being a Kurdish separatist. Earlier this year, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: “Some people, who benefit from the country’s peace and security, enjoying their jobs and their favourite sports, bite the hand that feeds them,” a reference many assumed was directed to Ghafouri.

The footballer was a member of Iran’s 2018 World Cup squad but didn't find space in the final lineup for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Ghafouri, who originally hails from the Kurdish-populated city of Sanandaj in western Iran, had posted a photo on Instagram of himself in traditional Kurdish dress in the mountains of Kurdistan.

The city witnessed the most violent crackdowns following protests over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. Ghafouri had visited some of those injured in the protests in Mahabad.