Iran soccer player says team is ‘concerned and sad’ for country, loved ones during war

Iran forward Sara Didar has said the team is “concerned and sad” for the country and their loved ones during the ongoing war.

Israel and the United States targeted Iran with strikes on February 28, killing their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Conflict and retaliatory strikes have persisted for five days, killing more that 800 people, with U.S. president Donald Trump saying “it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary”.

Iran’s women’s soccer team is currently competing in the Asian Cup in Australia. In videos widely circulated on social media, the team that faced South Korea on Monday appeared to not sing the national anthem.

“Obviously we are all concerned and sad at what has happened to Iran, our families in Iran and our loved ones,” Didar said ahead of their next tie against hosts Australia, per translation from Reuters. “But I really hope our country has good news ahead, and I hope that my country will be strongly alive.”

The forward was tearful, speaking before head coach Marziyeh ​Jafari, who reiterated her player’s sentiments.

“We have so much concern regarding our families and people in Iran, nobody loves war,” she said. “And we have so many concerns regarding our families and our loved ones, and all other Iranian people who are inside the country, with whom we are fully disconnected.

“But here, we are coming to play soccer professionally, and we (will) do our best to concentrate on our soccer and the match ahead.”

The Asian Cup is functioning as the penultimate stage of qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. On the men’s side, the conflict has thrown Iran’s participation in this summer’s World Cup in North America into question.

Trump said on Tuesday to Politico “I really don’t care” if the country participates.

FIFA’s general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday that their “focus is to have a safe World Cup with everyone participating”, while the Iranian football federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, told local state media that, “after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope”, per translation from AP.

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