Voria Ghafouri – already a star defender for Esteghlal FC – has become a hero in football for speaking out about an economic crisis that has led to soaring food prices. In a rare injection of politics into sport, fans interrupted a match on Wednesday to chant support for his defiant statement on Instagram that “it’s the ordinary people who are under pressure”.
Ghafouri was responding to statements made by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at a summit in Switzerland February 12. Referring to sanctions imposed by the United States, Zarif said that were “proud of defending the people of Palestine,” adding, “Today, we are all under pressure.”
