22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in Tehran on September 16 after being arrested by the vice squad three days earlier on charges of not wearing her headscarf in accordance with regulations. Since then there have been protests across the country.
On September 27, Daei urged the Iranian government “rather than to use repression, violence and arrests to solve the problems of the Iranian people.” His brother Mohammed told sports website Varzesh3 on Sunday: “Ali gave his whole life raising the flag of Iran, he loves the country and its people and always tells the truth.” He described what happened to his brother as “regrettable”.
The 52-year-old was one of the first Iranian soccer players to compete in a European league. In Germany, he first played for Arminia Bielefeld and FC Bayern Munich before moving to Hertha BSC. The Berlin Bundesliga club wrote in the short message service Twitter that the club was “dismayed” at the situation in Iran. “Our former player Ali Daei is no longer allowed to leave the country because he campaigned for women’s rights,” Hertha continued.
Several Iranian athletes, actors and directors have rallied behind the demonstrations and urged the authorities to listen to the protesters. Last Thursday, the media reported that the Iranian judiciary was investigating support for the protests against former Bayern professional Ali Karimi.
