Google News
Iran's all-time best footballer Ali Daei, 53, has had his passport revoked and banned from leaving the country after expressing his support for the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Daei accused the regime of "police violence" and "repression of protesters" during the protests and called on the Iranian government to solve the problems of the Iranian people instead of using repression, violence, and arrests.
Daei wrote:
“My homeland Iran means: My family, my father and mother, my daughters and compatriots are my brothers and sisters, I will surely stay with them forever. “Instead of repression, violence and arrest of the Iranian people, solve their problems.
“Those who talk about revolution and the dreams of martyrs, they know that those dreams are poverty, corruption, prostitution, embezzlement and… It wasn’t and we can’t correct ourselves”.
"The confiscation of Ali Daei's passport is because of what he wrote on Instagram," the local Hammihan newspaper reported.
The protests have been going on since September 16, when an Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini (22), was killed after she was detained by the state moral police for allegedly violating the dress code. Several dozen people lost their lives.
Amini's death resulted in great dissatisfaction among Iranians. It was first expressed on social networks, and among those who did so were numerous public figures of this country. Among them are two former footballers Ali Karimi, who also played for Bayern, and Hossein Mahini.
Until recently, Daei was the world's all-time leading scorer in the national team jersey with 109 goals until Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo broke his record last year. Playing for Iran from 1993 to 2006, Daei scored 109 goals in 149 appearances for the national team and has the status of a national hero in his country.
Interestingly, Daei scored three goals against our national team. During his rich career, he also played in the Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern, and Hertha.