Iran’s Football Federation has canceled an upcoming national team match in the city of Mashhad after religious authorities demanded that women be barred from attending, a federation source told IranWire.
The match against North Korea was originally scheduled to take place in Mashhad, but the federation announced on Saturday that the city would no longer host the game. The initial explanation cited objections from the visiting team. However, internal sources say the real reason was pressure from local religious and security officials.
According to the source, the Astan Quds Razavi shrine organization and Ahmad Alamolhoda, who represents Iran’s Supreme Leader in the province, insisted that the match could only go ahead if women were completely banned from entering the stadium. The province’s security council backed this position, making it “impossible” to hold the match as planned.
This is not the first controversy involving women and football in Mashhad. In a previous incident, women who tried to attend a game were beaten by security forces outside the stadium.
In many Iranian cities, women are still not allowed to attend football matches. When access is granted, it is usually limited and symbolic—often done only to meet international expectations, such as those from FIFA. Women are typically seated in isolated sections and in very small numbers.
Iran has long faced criticism for its gender-based restrictions in sports, and this latest decision has again highlighted the tension between religious authority and calls for equality.
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