Tractor Fans Chant 'Freedom, Justice, National Government' Slogan During Tabriz Match

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, Mar 13, 2023

Tabriz Stadium - March 11, 2023

During a football match in Tabriz stadium, the slogan "Freedom, justice, national government" was chanted by the supporters of the 'Tractor' team.

In videos shared on social media, it is seen that this slogan was chanted during the match between the Tractor team and the Kerman Mis team on Saturday, March 13, 2023.

The slogan, which became popular especially in Iranian Azerbaijan after the widespread protests in Iran last September, was heard during the match in Tabriz.

The slogan "Freedom, justice, national government" first became popular during protests in Tabriz in July 2021, held in support of the Arab community in the Ahvaz region of Iran, who were protesting a water shortage.

The slogan caught the attention of Turks not only in Iranian Azerbaijan but also in other parts of the country. In October of the previous year, a group of Qashqai Turks chanted the same slogan at the funeral of Asadollah Mardani Rahimi, a prominent Qashqai scholar, in Shiraz.

The fans of Tractor, a football team symbolizing Turkish identity in Iran, have been chanting slogans and displaying banners in stadiums for several years. They have raised issues such as the demand for education in the Turkish language, support for political prisoners, protests against the drying of Lake Urmia, and the ban on women entering stadiums in Iran.


Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Təbriz stadionunda "Azadlıq, ədalət, milli hökümət" şüarı səsləndirilib