Former Iranian footballer’s family ordered off flight, barred from leaving country

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iranian aviation authorities on Monday ordered a Dubai-bound flight to land and forced off the family of a former footballer who has been supportive of protests in the country.

Mahan Air Flight W563, which took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and was destined for Dubai, had among its passengers the wife and daughter of Ali Daei.

Daei, a former Iranian football captain who until recently held the record of an all-time international top goal scorer, has been extremely vocal in his support for ongoing protests in Iran.

The legendary footballer insisted that his wife and daughter “legally boarded the plane” in the Iranian capital and planned to visit Dubai “for a few days” and return to Iran.

State media, citing “informed sources,” said Daei’s wife had been barred from leaving the country by judicial authorities “due to her activities in calling for strikes.

The incident comes amid months-long protests in Iran sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of the country’s morality police this September.

Daei, who enjoys a massive following in Iran as the country’s most successful footballer, has been outspoken in his support for protests in a series of statements in recent months.

He and his wife have been accused by authorities of fomenting unrest by lending support to recent anti-government strikes that were called by anonymous groups.