Why the silence of Iran’s women’s soccer team speaks volumes |
Two and a half years ago, I visited the Iranian women’s national football team at their hotel in Perth. The plan was to interview the then-coach Maryam Azmoon while the team was in Australia for a set of Olympic qualifiers, including against the Matildas. That was the plan, anyway, because it was not a traditional interview, insofar as one person asks questions and another answers with their genuine thoughts.
There was no way to know if Azmoon’s answers were her genuine thoughts, because her Farsi was interpreted to me by the team’s executive manager, in the presence of a media manager believed by sources to be affiliated with the state’s oppressive regime.
Iran head coach Maryam Azmoon at a press conference in Perth in October, 2023.Credit: Getty
Under these murky rules of engagement, there was also........