Iranian police detain footballers in raid at party

Posted Monday, January 02, 2023 by ESPN

There has been mass unrest in Iran following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September.

Iranian police briefly detained several unidentified top-tier football players in a raid on a party on New Year's Eve where alcohol was served in violation of an Islamic ban, Iranian media have reported.

Mingling between sexes outside marriage and drinking alcohol are banned under Iran's Islamic laws. Social restrictions are among issues that prompted mass unrest in recent months, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a woman accused of violating the country's strict dress code.

The state-affiliated news agency Tasnim said several active players and former members of an unidentified top Tehran football club had been detained at the party east of the capital.

"Some of the players were in an abnormal state due to alcohol consumption," Tasnim reported, without giving further details.

The YJC news agency, another prominent state-affiliated news outlet, said the gathering was a birthday party, and added that all those detained had been released except one person, who is not a football player.

Fars news agency, which is also state-affiliated, cited a prosecutor as saying a case had been filed against those who had been detained, and details would be released later.

There was no immediate comment from Iran's football federation.