Families of Iran’s World Cup team ‘face prison terms and torture if players don’t sing national anthem or protest against Tehran regime before US clash’

The families of Iranian soccer players at the World Cup in Qatar have been threatened by their own country’s government with torture and imprisonment if they break the rules ahead of a tense final group game against the United States on Tuesday.

A source told CNN that a meeting between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) and all 26 soccer players was arranged after the starting team that played against England on November 21 refused to play the Iranian national anthem before the match to sing.

Players were told their families would be subjected to “violence and torture” if they remained silent during pre-match rituals and joined groups protesting the Islamic Republic’s regime.

The Iranian players sang their country’s national anthem before their 2-0 win against Wales last Friday.

After the match, a dozen IRGC officers were assigned to supervise the entire Iranian World Cup team and coaching staff, who are not allowed to communicate with foreigners and people outside their base.

Iranian players stand during their national anthem before the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B football match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha

“There are a large number of Iranian security agents in Qatar gathering information and monitoring players,” the CNN source said.

Iran coach Carlos Quieroz, who is Portuguese, held a separate meeting with IRGC officials after they threatened his team’s players and their families, the sources added.

Queiroz previously said Iranian players had the right to protest at the World Cup if they still met FIFA standards.

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz supports his players’ right to protest at a major tournament

Iranian players must win or draw against the USA to advance to the knockout stages

They were promised “gifts and cars” before a 6-2 defeat by England, the source told CNN, but the government changed tactics after they were embarrassed that none of the players sang the national anthem proudly .

“In the last game against Wales, the regime sent hundreds of these actor supporters to create a false sense of support and favor among the fans. For the next match against the USA, the regime plans to increase the number of actors significantly to thousands,” the source said.

The team’s silence in the first round of Group B matches came after months of anti-Iranian government protests following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s runners-up team.

At least 450 people have been killed and more than 18,000 arrested since the protests began, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an advocacy group monitoring the protests.

For months, Iran has not released figures for casualties or arrests, claiming without providing evidence that the protests were fueled by its enemies abroad, including the US.

Tehran also restricts access to the media and has arrested more than 63 reporters and photographers since the protests began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making it much more difficult to cover the unrest.

Members of Iran’s riot police wave national flags as fans take to the streets to celebrate their football team’s victory over Wales

A tie or loss on Tuesday (kick-off 2 p.m. EST) will eliminate the Americans, who drew 1-1 with Wales and 0-0 with England. England lead Group B with four points, followed by Iran with three points, USA with two and Wales with a lead.

USMNT captain Tyler Adams was asked to defend the US’s treatment of blacks during unusual pre-match press conferences on Monday and was fined for pronouncing the opponent “Aye-ran” instead of “E-ran”.

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter was questioned about U.S. immigration and Navy policies and apologized on social media for the U.S. Soccer Association’s decision to remove the Islamic Republic emblem from the Iranian flag.

The USSF’s flag decision was intended to support women protesters in Iran.

The US World Cup Twitter account angered many Iranians after they used social media to refer to the country without the Islamic Republic emblem on its flag

“We had no idea what American football was broadcasting,” Berhalter said. “All we can do on our behalf is apologize on behalf of the players and staff.”

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz was asked about Sunday’s flag-waving, which prompted the Iranian soccer federation to make demands to FIFA to ban the United States from the tournament. He said he had no intention of using the controversy as motivation.

“If after 42 years in this game as a coach I still believe I can win games with these mental games, then I believe I haven’t learned anything about the game,” he said.

“We stand in solidarity with humanitarian causes around the world, whatever they are or whoever they are,” he added. “When you talk about human rights, racism and kids dying in school shootings, we stand in solidarity with all those causes, but here our mission is to make people smile for at least 90 minutes.”