Iran Football and the Iranian Regime - A Prop for Trump-Bashing
A talk show producer called me recently. Had I heard that FIFA had revoked ticket allocations for the Iranian Football Federation, and what did I think about it?
Honestly, it seemed perfectly logical. We need to stop pretending that Iran is a normal country. We need to stop acting as if the average Iranian citizen can simply book a flight to the United States to watch a football match. There is a crucial distinction between Iran, the Iranian people, and the Iranian regime. This is not a government that fairly distributes opportunities or resources among its citizens.
Burying Children Instead of Watching Football
Many Iranians have far more urgent concerns. Some have recently buried children who were shot and killed by the regime. Others are struggling to afford food and medicine in an economy devastated by inflation exceeding 85 percent. For millions of people, the question is not how to attend a football match in America, but how to survive until the end of the month.
The tickets would inevitably end up in the familiar channels of the Iranian regime: corrupt officials, Basij militias, members of the Revolutionary Guard, and the loyal circle that appears wherever the regime needs a flag waved in its support.
The producer listened politely. I could already sense where the conversation was heading. Because this is how it always works. Iran becomes the starting point, but America is the final destination.
“So what would you say if we invited you on to discuss the restrictions the United States is imposing?” she asked.
There it was.
The discussion was never really about Iran or the Iranian people. It was about Trump and the so-called “Great Satan,” America. I knew my answers would disappoint her, but I gave them anyway.
I refuse to play the role of the Iranian who criticizes Trump while people in my country are being murdered by the regime.
If you want to talk about Iran, then let’s actually talk about Iran.
Let’s talk about how Mehdi Taj, the chairman of the ayatollahs’ football federation, previously served as a commander in the Revolutionary Guard.
Let’s talk about how sports federations in Iran operate under a regime that tolerates no independence.
Let’s talk about how football matches in Iran frequently turn into anti-government protests.
Let’s talk about how many Iranians have openly turned their backs on the national team.
Let’s talk about how Iranian exiles around the world demonstrate whenever the regime’s team appears at an international tournament.
And let’s talk about how they carry the historic Iranian flag featuring the Lion and Sun into stadiums, rather than the flag of the Islamic Republic with “Allah-o-Akbar” emblazoned across it.
The Real Story of Iran Football
That is the real story of Iran Football.
Apparently, however, it is not a story many people want to hear.
That evening, I watched the broadcast from my living room. A panel of Dutch commentators discussed Iran and the Iranian people without spending a single second considering what Iranians themselves might think. The many elite Iranian athletes who have been executed by the regime? Not mentioned. The question of whether the national football team still represents the Iranian people at all? Completely ignored.
“That Crazy Guy in Washington”
The American affairs expert referred to “that crazy guy in Washington.” The football analyst lamented how unfortunate it was that “Iranians” were not welcome.
And so, once again, Iranians became victims—not of Trump, but of those who claimed to be defending them.
Iranians were reduced to props.
Important enough to serve as a backdrop for opinions about America, yet apparently too unimportant to be given a voice of their own.
The ayatollahs silence them at the cost of countless lives.
Here in the West, we do it for free.
Keyvan Shahbazi (Tehran, 1964) is a cultural psychologist, writer, and commentator, and the author of the bestselling book about Iran, The American of Karaj. He has advised Dutch government officials, taught at the Police Academy, and is a board member of the Committee Iran Free. In 2024 he was named Freethinker of the Year; in 2025 he was nominated for the Pim Fortuyn Prize. He won the Pim Fortuyn prize in 2026. He wrote columns for de Volkskrant for many years and has published in De Telegraaf since 2020. In 2025, two of his books were simultaneously in the Bestseller Top 60.
This article previously appeared on 17 June, 2026, in De Telegraaf.
Image credits: Keyvan Shahbazi
