FIFA World Cup 2022: Why Iranians celebrated its team’s loss against the US

On Wednesday, US beat Iran at the FIFA World Cup match. The loss of Iran, however, triggered celebrations among Iranians who were seen waving the US flag and bursting fireworks in the country.

For a game that carries so much emotion and pride, celebrating a rival team’s victory is rather unusual. But the recent act was in line with Iran’s current situation where citizens of Iran are grappling with the authorities over the death of Mahsa Amini .

People of Iran are celebrating the loss of Islamic Republic soccer team to USA in World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The pro-regime team has been silent when Islamic Republic killing & arresting their compatriots,incl children.
"Long live to US" & fireworks...(video)#مهسا_امینی#IranTruth pic.twitter.com/tGLxd9NLUu

— IranTrue (@iran_true) November 29, 2022

A large number of protestors continue to boycott Iran’s football team, which they think is very much part of the oppressive regime.

Videos from the scenes of jubilation, where revellers can be seen dancing and singing soon after the USA’s victory followed have been making rounds on social media ever since.

Let’s take a closer look.

How are people celebrating Iran’s loss?

Journalists from Iran and across the world have shared videos of people on the streets of Iran. The revelry is rare but it’s a sight to behold as they bring a breath of fresh air from the usual scenes of burning tires and wounded protestors.

An Iranian journalist named Masih Alinejad shared videos of Iranians dancing soon after the US won the match on her Twitter. She wrote, “Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj & celebrate the loss of their football team against US. They don’t want the government to use sport to normalize its murderous regime.”

Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj & celebrate the loss of their football team against US.
They don’t want the government use sport to normalize its murderous regime.pic.twitter.com/EMh8mREsQn pic.twitter.com/MqpxQZqT20

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 29, 2022

Celebrations entered the city of Saqez, Mahsa’s hometown. A London-based Iran Wire website, according to AFP, said, “Saqez citizens have started to celebrate and use fireworks after America’s first goal against Iran’s football team.”

Although AFP was not able to verify the content, the video also showed fireworks and the sounds of fans cheering in the background could also be heard.

A Norway-based human rights group called ‘Hengaw’ claimed that several Iranian motorists honked their way to mark the US victory in Mahabad. In the city of Marivan where security forces have recently waged a crackdown on dissenters, the night sky was filled with fireworks.

Joyce Karam, a senior correspondent in US shared a video on her Twitter saying, “Surreal: Fireworks reportedly from Saqqez #Iran tonight celebrating US win over Iranian team at World Cup. Saqqez is #MahsaAmini ’s hometown, the woman whose death has sparked mass protests against regime.”

Surreal: Fireworks reportedly from Saqqez #Iran tonight celebrating US win over Iranian team at World Cup. Saqqez is #MahsaAmini’s hometown, the woman whose death has sparked mass protests against regime https://t.co/1qoXxmBkfK

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) November 29, 2022

She added, “So much has changed in Iran since September 16, that soccer team is no longer unifying symbol of national pride. The image of US that regime painted publicly since 1979 as “Great Satan” is also being rejected in the areas seeing protests.”

It was a moment of joy for Iranian sports journalist named Saeed Zafarany who said, “Who would’ve ever thought I’d jump three meters and celebrate America’s goal!”

Have Iranians disowned their own football team?

Nothing can better explain why the citizens of a country decided to celebrate the victory of a rival country than the fact that there exists tension and resentment towards the regime and in this case the football team too.

The people of Iran love football but not their national football team anymore. According to a report by Iran International, many in the country have distanced themselves from ‘Team Melli’ – a term that is used for Iran’s football team – in solidarity with the current wave of protests that have emerged in the country.

The team’s apparent lack of support for protestors has prompted many to nickname ‘Team Melli’ to ‘Team Mullah’. Protestors have also claimed that many players have attempted to integrate themselves with the clerical regime, hence the new nickname.

An Iranian woman going by the name Mahoora told Fox News Digital before the match aired, “It’s not just some people in Iran, it is the majority of people in Iran that want the US to win.”

“Because a soccer team should bring honour to its people. They must be our champions. But right now people on the street are getting murdered. And people are burying children after they were killed, and the soccer team of the mullahs met [President> Ebrahim Raisi and celebrates someone’s birthday and laughed together. And they didn’t pay attention to the people. The football players just wanted to be the centre of the attention," she added.

In addition to this, Iran International reported that two of the football players, Karim Ansarifard and Morteza Pouraliganji, turned down questions on solidarity with women. All of this only added to the tension.

What’s happening in Iran right now?

The protests in Iran see no end.

The death toll as a result of the violent protests has risen to 448, according to the latest media reports. Out of the 448 people who are confirmed to have been killed as a part of the regime’s deadly crackdown, 60 are children and 29 are women.

On the other hand, Iran announced its refusal to cooperate with a United Nations-drive fact-finding mission to investigate the ongoing anti-government demonstrations. Authorities, according to a report by Al Jazeera, have claimed that the UN-led investigations were “political” in nature.

Its foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters on 28 November, “No form of cooperation with this political committee which has been framed as a fact-finding committee.”

The US-Iran relationship

The showdown between Iran and US on Tuesday also highlighted the political and diplomatic relations between the two.

Tensions already flared up between the two countries when Iran’s football federation lodged a complaint to FIFA against the US Soccer Federation (USS) for allegedly removing the word “Allah” from the country’s flag in a social media post, that has since been deleted.

This episode only added to the growing hostility between the two countries.

The strained relationships between the two countries, according to most experts, can be traced back to 1953 when a democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown by a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-led coup following his attempt to nationalise the country’s oil industry.

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 where the monarchical rule of the US-friendly Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was replaced by a government that was doubtful of Washington’s role in the country’s politics, changed the course of history for the nation. It is said that Pahlavi took refuge in US after he fled from Iran which further raised eyebrows in his home country.

The 1980s were a tumultuous time for both countries. Things came to a head when many US politicians blamed Iran for the killings of more than 240 US service members who died in a suicide attack in 1983, according to Al Jazeera.

The 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington were a watershed moment. It prompted then President George W Bush to launch the “war on terror” which targeted Iran more than any other country.

Under Barack Obama’s rule, the two countries inked the deal of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the terms of which laid out plans for Tehran to reduce its nuclear power in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against the country.

However, in 2018, President Donald Trump pulled out of the JCPOA deal and reimposed its sanctions on Iran.

With inputs from agencies

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