The picture is from a friendly game between Iran and Uruguay, on September 23, 2022. These are Iranian players celebrating the goal by Mehdi Taremi.
Just to put it into context: on the same date city of Oshnavieh was the scene of heavy protest and clashes between people and police. Heavy fights were reported in Isfahan at dusk. Universities shifted to virtual teaching mode to avoid further students protests.
On the same date, state-organized rallies in support of the hejab and the government were held (The government claimed that the rallies were spontaneous, while many reformist parties within the system were frequently denied the right to gather and demonstrate). Furthermore, The United States Department of State issued a general license facilitating US corporations' access to the Iranian Internet market. This was followed by ecstatic news of Elon Musk expanding Starliknk services to cover Iran as well.
But back in the Iranian footballists' delusional bulb, the outlook looked vastly different. They see rosier landscapes. Impending world cup, impending demonstration of their talents, and abundant luxury contracts would be awaiting. Many Iranian football players are professionals on fat contracts engineered by astute agents who are handling their affairs. Many of them are playing in European leagues. They are not the best examples of education and social/political maturity.
In fact, the behavior of many of the Iranian national team squad was deemed as tone-deaf toward the social milieu they come from. Their social media can be a good measure to evaluate their stance. They are a generation of players who express opinions over various issues on social media. From the quality of the kits they used to wear at the national team to the birthday greetings, etc all were expressed through these popular platforms. However, they switched to a mute mode and opted a neutral stance regarding what was happening in the streets of their homeland, probably their hometwons, probably members of their families. Understandably, Iranian fans were infuriated and they feel divorced from this so-called "National Team" or "Team Melli". Words are raped once again in the current politically-stained rhetoric and Iranian uprising intends to reclaim their vocabulary. "Team Melli" is from "Mellat (People), and plays for Mellat.
These players (and again reiterate there are exceptions within the current squad who were vocal and proactive) are symbols of complacent conformity. They are a bunch of careerists running in circles to satisfy career goals. This career trajectory will not ultimately move them a jot toward becoming mature humans.
Sometimes a win represents a million losses.
