TEHRAN, Iran – For a brief moment, Iran’s female football fans thought they were finally allowed to attend a match, but their hopes were dashed on Monday when authorities said their tickets were sold by mistake.
Women have been barred from attending football matches, and some other sporting events such as wrestling, since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with officials saying they must be protected from the vulgar atmosphere.
But when seats for Tuesday’s qualifying match against Syria at Tehran’s Azadi stadium went on sale on Saturday, many were shocked to see an option for women’s tickets on the website.
Some shared their surprise and joy on Twitter with a Farsi hashtag meaning “I_have_ticket.”
But it did not take long for reality to reimpose itself, as Iran’s football federation said it was all a mistake.
“There is no plan to allow the presence of women in Azadi stadium for the Iran-Syria match,” it said in a statement, blaming a “technical glitch”.
Tickets held by women would all be cancelled and refunded, it said.
— AFP
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