Subversive soccer

Iran recently hosted its "first" mixed game in more than a decade, without the holy blessing of the Ayatollah, of course. The youth male team beat the women 7 – 0, the club officials were fined about $5,000 dollars, and some of them were suspended for a year. What’s incredible about this event is the willingness of the players and the officials to organize such a game, knowing the consequences. I doubt that this was the first mixed game (the first one to be discovered by the authorities, perhaps), and I doubt this will be the last.


It’s no secret that women aren’t even allowed in football stadiums, unless they’re watching a women-team play. The Ayotallahs argue that their reasons are moral and religious; women just can’t be around those foul-mouthed soccer hooligans, and they live in a country that implements strict gender segregation. Iranian women defied the authorities and forced their way into the Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) stadium, when Iran qualified for the World Cup by defeating Bahrain 1-0 (back in 2005). In 2006, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lifted the ban, claiming that allowing women in the stadiums would “promote chastity.” They must be given a chance to watch all sporting events and must be given the best seats in the house. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, quickly overruled the lift on the ban.

Offside is a good movie to watch about the struggle of female footy fans in Iran. It’s quirky, sweet, and captures the spirit of football better than most movies about this sport. After all, who else would know better the whimsical attraction and poignancy of football, than those who struggle for something as simple as watching a live game.