Array
Iranian authorities said Tuesday that a former member of the national soccer team arrested last week over his criticism of the government has been released on bail.
The announcement came hours before Iran was set to play the U.S. at the World Cup in a match that authorities are heavily promoting as they grapple with nationwide protests that are well into their third month.
Voria Ghafouri was arrested last week for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing against the government,” according to state-linked media. The judiciary announced his release Tuesday without elaborating.
Ghafouri, who was not chosen to go to the World Cup, has been an outspoken critic of Iranian authorities throughout his career. He objected to a longstanding ban on women spectators at men’s soccer matches as well as Iran’s confrontational foreign policy, which has led to crippling Western sanctions.
