Dramatic scenes: How Iran football legend Ali Daei’s family was stopped from leaving the country for backing protests

It’s been more than 100 days that Iran has been witnessing protests, the longest anti-government stir since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Authorities continue their crackdown on those who have voiced their support to demonstrators. The latest target is legendary Iranian footballer Ali Daei’s family. Ali Daei, who backed the anti-government protests, on Monday said an international flight was rerouted to prevent his wife and daughter from travelling abroad. The plane took off from Tehran but the family did not make it to Dubai, where they were supposed to join Daei on a holiday. What happened? **Also read: Young and Bold: The Iranians facing death over protests** An unannounced stop Daei’s wife and daughter had flown on a Mahan Air flight, which took off from Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran and was headed to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The jet was forced to make an unannounced stop on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf and the family was deplaned. Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) quoted Daei as saying, “My daughter and wife were taken off the flight, but they were not arrested.” The mother-daughter duo was reportedly questioned by authorities. The 53-year-old said that his daughter had been released. However, she wasn’t allowed to reboard the flight to Dubai. “Had they been banned [from leaving], the passport police system should have shown it: No one has given me an answer about this. I really don’t know what is the reason for these things,” he said. **Also read: What Iran’s decision to suspend morality police could mean** A ban bypassed? The semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which is believed to be close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said a travel ban was imposed on Daei’s wife, Mona Farrokhazari, earlier this month because she supported the anti-government protests. It added that she tried to illegally bypass the restriction, without elaborating further, and that her final destination was the United States and not Dubai. According to a state-run IRNA news agency, the judiciary said that Daei’s wife had “pledged to inform the relevant institutions of her decision before leaving the country,” due to her association with anti-regime groups and rioters and calling for strikes. But she reportedly did not abide by the promise. **Also read: Who is Mahnaz Mohammadi, the Iranian filmmaker who sent a lock of hair to India?** Facing harassment Daei and his family have voiced their support for the anti-government protests in Iran, which started in September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini . She was reportedly killed by the country’s morality police for wearing the hijab inappropriately. Soon after the protests began, Daei urged the government to “solve the problems of the Iranian people rather than using repression, violence and arrests” in a social media post. However, this is not the first attempt to bully the footballer and his family. He encountered the authorities multiple times since his support for the protest. In October, Daei told the Agence France-Presse news agency that his passport was confiscated by police upon his return from a foreign country, before being returned to him several days later. According to German media broadcaster DW News, in December, his jewellery shop and restaurant in Tehran’s fashionable north were sealed. Local media reports said that they had been ordered to shut for “cooperation with anti-revolutionary groups in cyberspace”. The report quoted Daei as saying he has been targeted by threats after he backed the protests triggered by Amini’s death. Also read: Iran's gender apartheid and its continued discrimination against women The legend of Daei Ali Daei is one of the few Iranian celebrities who came out in support of the protests ignited by her death. He is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time. A former Bayern Munich player, he was part of Iran’s 2-1 World Cup victory against the United States in 1998. He was the captain of the national team between 2000 and 2006. The former German Bundesliga striker, he scored 109 goals on the global level in the 1990s and early 2000s, becoming the world’s top international goalscorer. The score was long unsurpassed until Cristiano Ronaldo overtook him in 2021. After his retirement, Daei served as a member of the FIFA Football Committee between 2007 and 2013. He was inducted into the Asian Football Hall of Fame in 2014. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.