This archive report was first published on 19 September 2019.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has told Iran it is time to allow women into football stadiums, amid growing international pressure following the death of a female fan who set herself on fire in protest against her arrest for attending a match.
Infantino's call comes as FIFA expects 'positive developments' starting with Iran's next home match in October, when they host Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifying competition.
The ban on women attending men's football matches in Iran has been in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution, despite foreign women being allowed limited access to matches.
Infantino said in a statement that he was hopeful the Iranian football federation and government authorities had been receptive to FIFA's 'repeated calls to address this unacceptable situation.'
He added, 'Our position is clear and firm. Women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran. Now is the moment to change things and FIFA is expecting positive developments starting in the next Iran home match in October.'
Iran has qualified for five World Cup finals, including each of the last two, and has been under increasing pressure to allow women into stadiums following the death of Sahar Khodayari, a 30-year-old fan who died in hospital after setting herself on fire outside a court where she feared being jailed for six months for attending a match in disguise as a man.
Khodayari's death has caused widespread outrage in Iran and internationally, prompting calls on social media for Iran's football federation to be suspended or banned by FIFA.
Infantino said a FIFA delegation was now in Iran, and he was looking forward to hearing good news from them.
