RED CARD: Iran’s Football Legend Passport Seized After Backing Hijab Protests Online

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An Iranian football superstar has been banned from leaving the country after he showed support for the nationwide protests currently shaking Iran.

Ali Daei, the former captain of the Iranian national football team, is a national legend who scored 109 goals during his prolific career as a striker.

Now he has been barred from leaving Iran after his passport was confiscated by authorities in the capital city of Tehran.

Iranian former striker Ali Daei poses in undated photo. He showed support for the protests in Iran and authorities took away his passport and barred from leaving the country. (@alidaei/Newsflash)

This occurred upon his re-entry into the country during his return from a trip to Istanbul in Turkey, according to local media reports from 1st October.

The news came after the governor of the province of Tehran, Mohsen Mansouri, warned that famous Iranians who “blew into the embers of the riots” would face serious consequences while the former footballer is said to have joined a list of celebrity targets that grows bigger each day.

Ali Daei is a known supporter of allowing women to attend matches in football stadiums in Iran and is reported to be an active critic of the country’s political regime.

A social media post posted by Iranian Ali Daei, showing support for the protesters undated. He showed support for the protests in Iran and authorities took away his passport and barred from leaving the country. (Newsflash)

The former striker has gone on to back the protests now rocking the country in a series of Instagram posts that received a combined total of almost three million likes.

The football legend wrote: “My homeland Iran means: my family, my father and mother, my daughters and fellow countrymen are my brothers and sisters…

“Instead of repression, violence and arresting the Iranian people, solve their problems.”

A social media post showing Mahsa Amini, posted by Iranian Ali Daei, undated. He showed support for the protests in Iran and authorities took away his passport and barred from leaving the country. (Newsflash)

The former striker was considered the top international goal scorer until his record was smashed by the Portuguese professional football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored a grand total of 117 international goals so far, according to FIFA.

(T4/ends)