This weekend was held the final of the Intercontinental Cup of Beach Soccer in Dubai, final which saw face off Iran and Brazil. Iran won two goals to one, but what caught the eye was not the result, it was the way Saeed Piramoun, the striker who gave his team the victory, celebrated his goal . He mimed cutting his hair, doing scissors with his fingers, the sign of protest of Iranian women against the regime. The image was censored live on Iranian television, but everywhere else the video is looping, on social networks, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, but also on all the major international channels, from CNN to Al Jazeera.
#Iranian beach soccer team are 2022 Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup champs after beating Brazil today in Dubai.
A player celebrates his goal by re-enacting the cutting of hair that women are doing in protest against the Islamic Republic. #IranRevolution #MahsaAmini #Iran pic.twitter.com/ALmcLhV4PV
— Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) November 6, 2022
To pay tribute to Mahsa Amini, the Iranian woman who died under the blows of the morality police in Iran, but also to all those who have been demonstrating since September in Iran, to the thousands of people arrested, to the hundreds killed, Saeed Piramoun has decided to risk his career. Moreover, the regime immediately warned that, upon their return to the territory, the entire team would be “supported“. Because, if he mimed cutting his hair, in reality, all the players rallied and refused both to sing the national anthem but also to celebrate their victory.
And it doesn’t stop at the world of beach soccer. On Sunday, a speed skater took to the podium without a veil to receive her trophy. Wednesday, November 9, it was the 13 players of the Iranian water polo team who refused to sing the anthem during a competition in Thailand.
And Thursday is actress Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning film in 2016 The customerwho posted a photo of herself without a veil with a sign “woman-life-freedom” on Instagram where eight million fans follow her. So many personalities who risk arrest, trial, prison and above all an unofficial sentence of silence. Since Sunday evening, we have not heard from Saeed Piramoun.