The world union of professional footballers FIFPRO said it was “shocked and sickened” by the risk of Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani being sentenced to death in connection with protests which have shaken the country for three months.
Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days after allegedly taking part in an “armed riot” in which three security agents were killed on September 16, Isfahan’s judiciary chief Abdullah Jafari said, quoted Sunday by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Jafari said the 26-year-old had been accused of “rebellion, membership in illegal gangs, collusion to undermine security and therefore assisting in moharabeh” — or “emnity against God” — a capital crime in the Islamic republic.
A statement released by FIFPRO on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, via a tweet read: “FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country,”
The statement comes following reports from foreign-based news outlets that 26-year-old Iranian league footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in connection with the death of several security officers amid the continued anti-government protests in the country.
However, a senior judiciary official in Iran has denied that Nasr Azadani has received a death sentence.
