Next week in Tehran, an Asian Football Confederation Champions League match will occur between the Iranian club Persepolis and the Saudi team Al Nassr, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo. Reza Darvish, the president of Persepolis, stated that some individuals "who want to tarnish our reputation" have advised the footballers not to come to Iran because they won't have access to free internet. In a conversation with the Irancell telecommunications operator, he said:

"We want to provide Irancell SIM cards with unlimited internet access to the players and staff so that they can use it from the moment they enter Iran until they depart."

In addition to Ronaldo, stars like Neymar and Karim Benzema will arrive in Tehran. They have joined the teams Al Hilal and Al Ittihad. They will play against Nassaji Mazandaran and Sepahan on October 2nd and 3rd.

Meanwhile, Iranians cannot access Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, Google+, and many other popular websites worldwide. People regularly use multiple VPNs, but local authorities actively suppress these tools. Some Iranians argue that it would be an insult and discrimination to offer services to Ronaldo and other footballers that citizens cannot access.

Published by Patrick Jane
13.09.2023