Iranian officers arrested numerous fans of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal soccer team after they used the match to protest against the regime.
Supporters burned a picture of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khameini. Other fans unveiled a banner that said “Arab Ahvaz” to show support for the Ahwazi Arabs in Southern Iran. These Arabs face persecution and discrimination from the authorities.
Some people held signs that said “We are all Younes” for Younes Asakereh, a street vendor. Asakereh, 31 and a father of two, “is in critical condition subsequent to setting himself on fire on March 13 after numerous attacks by repressive state security forces who prevented him from earning a living.”
Riots broke out after people learned about the arrests. Photos “circulated on social media” of the riots.
“In the ensuing clashes that lasted for three hours, a large number of people, especially the youth were battered and injured,” claimed the National Council of Resistance of Iran. “Some one hundred protesters were arrested and transferred to an undisclosed location. The Iranian Resistance calls on all international organizations to condemn the savage suppression of people of Ahvaz and to take immediate action to free those arrested.”
“The Ahvaz National Stadium saw large scale clashes between Ahvazi demonstrators and the forces of oppression that serve the Persian state,” reported Ahwz.tv, an anti-regime Iranian station.