Alirza Quluncu - Rooz - August 9, 2010
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| For Tractor Sazi fans, Iran's football federation and media discriminate against their team and its supporters through bans, biased reporting, and ongoing stigmatization. |
The article reports on the discrimination faced by Tractor Sazi football fans in Iran, detailing recent protests in Tabriz where demonstrators demanded education in their mother tongue and protested against police violence. It discusses the arrests, alleged torture of detainees, and the biased media portrayal that further stigmatizes the supporters, reflecting broader issues of ethnic discrimination in Iranian society.
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Detainees of Recent Protests in Tabriz Tortured
Despite the release of many detainees from last week's protests by supporters of the Tractor Sazi football team in Tabriz, several others remain imprisoned and are denied visits with their families. According to the Association for the Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP), Mohammad Taghdehi and Haman Mahdipour are among those who were released on bail last Saturday, but others, including Akbar Yavari and Daryoush Abadpour, are still in custody.
Dozens Arrested
The father of one of the detainees, who went to the Tabriz court to inquire about his son’s situation, estimates the number of arrests to be between 50 to 100. Seyyed Hassan Taghdehi, the father of Mohammad Taghdehi, told Rooz that officials are unresponsive regarding his son’s case: “The only thing we know is that he was arrested during the protests after the football match. They don’t give us any other answers. They only say his name is on the list and to come back next week.”
The Taghdehi family has not been allowed to visit their son since his arrest and remains in ignorance of his situation. Meanwhile, according to ADAPP, “the detainees have been severely beaten and tortured during their detention in the Tabriz Intelligence Office.”
“School in the Turkish Language”
The protests that took place on August 1 in Tabriz saw many people from the city and surrounding towns participate, most of whom were supporters of the Tractor Sazi football team. According to news websites, despite the heavy security atmosphere in Tabriz with the presence of police and plainclothes officers trying to instill fear among the public, the rally initially started in the Saat Square and continued to the East Azerbaijan Governorate.
The protesters shouted slogans against the insults to Azerbaijanis and also called for education in their mother tongue. Among the slogans were “School in the Turkish Language,” “Azerbaijan is Our Life – Turkish Language is Our Right,” and “Azerbaijan Nation – This Humiliation Will Not Stand.” According to Jaras, the demonstrators were attacked by the anti-riot motorized forces.
Simultaneously with these protests, “Mashregh,” a news site close to Ahmadinejad’s government, quickly published news regarding these demonstrations. In its report, which was seen at 7 PM on August 1, it wrote: “A group of pan-Turkist and separatist elements from northwest of the country, provoked by the extremist supporters of the Tractor Sazi football team, sought to disturb public order in the city of Tabriz.”
Mashregh also refers to the efforts of security forces to suppress the protests: “Special units of the police are attempting to calm the situation to prevent the spread of clashes to other areas.”
Beatings of Tractor Sazi Supporters in Tehran
According to news sites, these protests began after incidents related to the football match between Persepolis and Tractor Sazi in Tehran. During these events, some supporters of Tractor Sazi were beaten by police forces, and eyewitnesses reported that at least one of them was injured.
Yashar Aslani, a supporter of the Tractor Sazi team who was present at the scene, believes that the police's actions in Azadi Stadium were premeditated and malicious. He states, “The main issue was the usual insults, which unfortunately are a common problem in stadiums. The chants against the ‘Tractor’ supporters in Azadi Stadium were a repetition of the racist insults directed at Azerbaijan, but this time thousands of people were repeating them. The police also exacerbated the situation by attacking the ‘Tractor’ supporters who responded to these insults and beat them severely.”
Following these incidents, the Football Federation of Iran imposed bans on Tractor Sazi supporters from attending their team’s next two home matches, while the Persepolis supporters were also banned from attending one home game.
Protests Against the Ban on Tractor Supporters
After the ban on Tractor Sazi supporters, websites related to the team’s fans issued announcements and posters stating that if they were not allowed to attend the match between Tractor Sazi and Raah Ahan, they would hold protests in Tabriz concurrently with the game. Thus, the protests on August 1 in Tabriz occurred while the empty Sahand Stadium in Tabriz hosted the match between Tractor Sazi and Raah Ahan.
State TV Upset the Public
Yashar Aslani mentioned in an interview that the reports from state TV regarding the incidents in Azadi Stadium not only upset Tractor Sazi supporters but also many sensitive and upset people. He stated that the TV reporter insulted Azerbaijani supporters during the match report and continued to insult them after the game.
This Tractor Sazi supporter also pointed to a program aired on the Islamic Republic’s Tehran Provincial TV following the match between Tractor Sazi and Persepolis. One of the program’s presenters stated that the spectators from Tabriz should be given a score of twenty for their “uncultured and unethical behavior.” The program also labeled the slogans of Tractor Sazi supporters as political.
They Don’t Want Us in the Stadium
This Tractor Sazi supporter, who claims to have attended all of the team’s matches, adds, “Their goal is to keep ‘Tractor’ supporters away from the stadium, and we want to prevent this issue. We have written to FIFA, and thousands have signed it on the internet. ‘Tractor’ supporters want education in their mother tongue and say, ‘Do not insult Azerbaijani culture.’ Tractor is not just an ordinary team; it represents both sport and culture, and that’s why they can’t tolerate us. They don’t want us in the stadium.”
According to human rights defenders, in the past year, following Tractor Sazi's promotion to Iran’s Premier League, dozens of the team’s supporters have been arrested in stadiums or at home and work. These individuals have often been detained for participating in post-match protests, chanting slogans, and printing posters in Azerbaijani Turkish, facing charges such as inciting public unrest, propaganda against the regime, and separatism.
Link to the original text in Farsi: https://rooz.hilnu.com/persian/news/newsitem/article/-62a93bccb8/