This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
FIFA Officials to Visit Iran Amid 'Blue Girl' Outrage ¶
Iranian authorities have been under pressure to allow women to attend men's soccer matches since the death of Sahar Khodayari, a 30-year-old female fan who set herself on fire in protest at her arrest for attending a match in disguise as a man.
Khodayari, dubbed 'Blue Girl' due to her favourite team Esteghlal's colours, died in hospital on September 3, 2019, after her self-immolation outside a court where she feared being jailed for six months.
While foreign women have been allowed limited access to matches, Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men's teams have been playing since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
On September 11, 2019, FIFA officials announced that they would visit Iran to check the preparations made by the Iranian Football Association to provide access to the October 10 match for women.
The visit comes after widespread outrage in Iran and internationally, with calls on social media for Iran's football federation to be suspended or banned by FIFA.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, said on September 11, 2019, that women would be allowed into stadiums if foul language in chants and sporadic violence was curbed.
However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously urged Iranian authorities to take 'concrete steps' to allow Iranian and foreign women to buy tickets and attend games.
Infantino has also reiterated FIFA's calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure the freedom and safety of any women engaged in the fight to end the stadium ban for women in Iran.
