Documentation: Iran's missile attack on Israel/social networks
Iran's attack on Israel continues to be at the top of the agenda, and naturally the sports world is also full of reactions. Along with reactions of support for the regime since the beginning of the attack last night, voices of opposition are also heard, and more and more Iranian athletes are trying to convey a message of reconciliation and brotherhood with Israel.
Yesterday (Sunday) came the most significant reaction in this regard, when Ali Karimi, one of the greatest Iranian footballers of all time, a famous former player (who was nicknamed the "Asian Maradona") with a rich resume including seasons in Bayern Munich, openly came out against the attack on Israel. Karimi uploaded to social networks a picture simulating Israel and Iran as one fist, with hands joined together (including the flag of Israel and the previous flag of Iran, from before the Ayatollah regime), and wrote: "We are Iran, not the Islamic Republic."
Karimi's post received tens of thousands of comments, most of them positive and sympathetic, including many Iranians who identified with his words. The 45-year-old Karimi is known as a fierce opponent of the Islamic Republic and the Ayatollah regime, and has often spoken out against it in recent years from his seat in Europe. In June 2009, he was again forced to withdraw from the team, after wearing a green bracelet in a match against the South Korean team in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, as a sign of solidarity with the popular protest against the results of the elections in Iran. In September 2022, Tsiov published on his Twitter page in which he calls for a coup against the background of the protest against the government. The authorities in Iran responded by confiscating his house.
Following Karimi, voices of protest were also heard from other athletes. Milad Zanidpour, a former Iranian soccer player, wrote: "This war has nothing to do with me. It does not represent me and my positions. I am not the Islamic Republic, and believe that the regime launched an attack only out of considerations of political survival. How much money did you waste in this attack? The economic situation is difficult , and they are investing millions in firing missiles."
Wahid Sarlek, coach of Iran's judo team, wrote on Instagram: "We Iranians are fighting the Islamic Republic, not Israel. We have no problem with the Jews and the Israelis, and we consider them our friends. The Iranian people should not pay the price of the regime's madness."