Did Iran Execute Soccer Player Nasr-Azadani? – Sportsmanor

Amir Nasr-Azadani (Credit: Google)
Iranian soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani was arrested in late November, amid the most recent FIFA World Cup, hosted in Qatar. Currently, he is facing execution by the order of the Iran Government.
Amir Nasr-Azadani was born in 1996 in the Iranian city of Isfahan. He started playing soccer at a very young age for the local team, Sepahan club. Amir’s high work rate and stamina on the pitch developed him into a well-rounded side-back.
He was also skillful enough to play high up in the wing and became a hot soccer prospect in the country. He played in youth setups of the Iranian national team. In 2018, he suffered an ACL injury, from which his career has been heavily injury-riddled.
Iran, being a stern Islamic country maintains a lot of strict rules and regulations. The consequences of breaking those rules can most certainly be as hard as the death penalty. Where the rest of the world is celebrating Christmas, a number of Iranian families are shivering in fear.
The country of Iran is in massive unrest following a number of protests. The protests started when the Iranian morality police beat a young woman named Mahsa Amini to death, for not wearing a hijab properly.
26-year-old Nasr-Azadani is facing imminent execution for allegedly being an active part of the armed protest. IranWire sources first reported Amir’s arrest on December 11. The soccer player has received worldwide support against his possible execution.
On 17 November 2022, Iranian higher-ups reported the death of Colonel Esmael Cheragi following the ongoing protests. On 20 November 2022, they released a video of confessions by three individuals arrested taking the blame for Cheragi’s death. The reason Amir was arrested was that one of the confessions showed strong connections with Amir Nasr-Azadani.
Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani ‘facing execution’ after campaigning for women’s rights, FIFPRO release statement. pic.twitter.com/aVq5PUyH12
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) December 13, 2022

IranWire confirmed his arrest a few days later. They also said that Amir’s family was forced to keep it quiet about the soccer player’s arrest or they would punish the soccer player severely. Initially, the family was foreign to the reason for Amir’s arrest and they were also not allowed to hire a lawyer. In December, the family came to know about Amir’s imminent death penalty.
IranWire sources have claimed, “Nasr-Azadani had been present in some nationwide protests, but he was never present in the area where the Colonel was killed. His presence in the protests was short and limited to chanting slogans for a few hours,”. They also said that Amir was ‘forced’ to make a confession after he was tortured physically and mentally.
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.
We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment. pic.twitter.com/vPuylCS2ph
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) December 12, 2022

FIFPRO has remarked on the execution as “sickened”, and requested the authorities to revoke the death penalty. Former Newcastle and England striker Gary Linekar tweeted by saying “Good heavens. This is awful.” Many influential personalities including Shakira also showed their support for Amir Nasr-Azadani.
Sandeep Saha, a soccer writer at Sportsmanor, dreams of a career in writing. He is a Mass Communication graduate from the University of Calcutta and considers music and football as important as breathing.
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