Football World Cup in Qatar: Defeat for the Iranian regime

Iran’s government wanted to win back sympathies with the World Cup in Qatar. It is becoming increasingly clear that there was a propaganda plan for this. But it doesn’t seem to have worked out – which is not only due to the Iranians being eliminated from the preliminary round.

Weeks before the start of the soccer World Cup, there is a meeting of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards to appear in Qatar – at least that’s how the hacker group “Black Reward” puts it. They publish a sound recording that supposedly comes from it. It suggests that the Iranian regime has drawn up a propaganda plan for the World Cup.

Accordingly, Qatar agrees to stop all dissident rallies, statements or symbols. The government in Doha also provides lists of Iranians who have bought tickets for the games – and promises that opposition figures whom Tehran does not want to see in the stadium will stay outside. On the other hand, they want to send 5,000 fans loyal to the regime to Qatar free of charge to ensure the right atmosphere in and around the stadium. Later, Iranian security officials are identified as football fans in Qatar.

Another component of the propaganda plan seems to be the national team itself, nicknamed “Team Melli”. Before leaving for the World Cup, they pose with ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi. After that, demonstrators gave her a new nickname: “Team Mulla”.

streets reclaimed?

The players lost their sympathy with them. That doesn’t change when they remain silent during the national anthem in the opening game against England – in solidarity with the protests at home. On the contrary: the people in Iran are celebrating the whopping 6-2 defeat. A Tehran resident said: “When Iran conceded the first goals, I heard horns and horns all over our neighborhood and it continued after the game.”

Flags and T-shirts with a main slogan of the protests: “Women – Life – Freedom” can be seen on the stands in the stadium. The regime’s propaganda plan doesn’t seem to be working—yet. A few days later, a different picture emerges on the lawn. The Iranian players sing the national anthem during the game against Wales. Iran beat Wales 2-0.

This time the fans are celebrating at home – and those who haven’t dared to go outside since the protests began. They have reclaimed the streets for the night, says a Tehran who is out and about in the city. “There aren’t many who seem to be venting their frustration,” he says. But they tried to create a mood and draw attention to themselves. “This victory is probably a defeat for everyone who has been on the streets in recent months – and a victory for the Iranian government. We should accept that.”

Nemesis at the end of the preliminary round

At the end of the preliminary round there is the most important opponent – the archenemy of the regime: the USA. The propaganda machine is running in Iran. “Down with America” ​​- the slogan is mandatory at pro-regime demonstrations in Iran. This time they call in special forces from the powerful Revolutionary Guards. They are among those who are brutally taking action against demonstrators on the streets of the country these days.

In front of them is the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “The problem isn’t a few hooligans on the street — even if every hooligan, every terrorist, has to be punished,” he says. The battlefield is much larger. “The main enemy is global arrogance.” The regime describes the United States as “global arrogance”. They would be behind the protests of the last few months.

The pressure on the Iranian internationals before the big game is increasing – and on their families, the US television station CNN reports in advance. Tehran threatened them with jail and torture “if the team didn’t behave,” CNN quoted an anonymous source as saying.

Violence does not decrease

The Iranian team adheres to the political guidelines – but they lose. Iran is out, the propaganda campaign is over. The real defeat, however, is conceded to the regime in Tehran. The victors are not only the US national team, but also the Iranian demonstrators and the opposition.

“Here, people scream ‘America, America!’ all the time,” says a man in a good mood in a voice message from Iran. The contrast program takes place this evening in a Tehran football stadium. Fans follow the game against the USA on big screens. A football fan said after the defeat: “Congratulations to the American team. They tried their best and played really fair.”

Such conciliatory tones are seldom heard in Iran these days. The violence on the streets hasn’t diminished over the past few days, especially in the Kurdish areas in the north-west.

Iranian fans greet the national soccer team on their return to Tehran on December 1st.

Image: AFP

Possible consequences for athletes unclear

The day after the defeat, the national team comes back to Iran. The team of ARD Studios Tehran asks Sardar Azmoun, who plays for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, how he experienced the World Cup in Qatar. Then he strokes his beard and thinks about his answer very carefully: “It wasn’t good, I have to be honest. It was really difficult for us.”

A man next to him – presumably one of the minders who accompany Iranian athletes at international competitions – is pressuring them to move on. It is not yet known whether the failed propaganda plan will have any consequences for him, his teammates and their families.

It has that for the regime. Those in the opposition attach great importance to it politically. For them it is clear: The enemies of Tehran are not the enemies of the Iranians. They no longer want this hostility toward the United States, which has been cultivated for decades. From their point of view, this means that another cornerstone of the Islamic Republic is shaky after the headscarf requirement.