Iran football federation summons player after hugging female fan

Iran’s football federation summoned a professional player after he hugged a female fan prior to a match, highlighting official unease over female spectators not long after they were allowed to attend games after an over 40-year ban.

“The ethics committee of the Football Federation of Iran has summoned Ramin Rezaeian,” the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported Friday, without elaborating.

Rezaeian, 34, plays for Tehran giants Esteghlal and used to be a regular member of Iran’s national team. He embraced the female supporter before Esteghlal’s match against Chadormalu in the central Yazd province on Thursday.

The federation has not yet issued an official comment.

Under Islamic law in Iran in effect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, physical contact between unrelated men and women is prohibited.

Women were largely banned from attending football matches for decades, though they were allowed into a domestic championship match in August 2022 for the first time in over 40 years.

This is not the first time Iranian football has taken disciplinary action over such incidents. In April, Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini was suspended for also embracing a female fan during a championship match. He was slapped with a hefty fine of three billion Iranian rials (approximately $4,500) and a one-game suspension.

Rezaeian, who has been capped more than 60 times by Iran, has also played club football in Qatar and Belgium.