Family of Soccer Hero Called 'Anti-Government Protester' Detained... Forced Landing During Flight

Ali Daei with 109 A-Match Goals
"Are They Arresting Terrorists?" Backlash

As anti-government protests in Iran enter their 100th day, Iranian authorities have prevented the family of the country's football hero Ali Daei (53), who openly supports the protests, from leaving the country.

According to reports on the 26th (local time) by AFP and Bloomberg, citing local state-run and independent media, Daei's wife and daughter boarded a Mahan Air passenger flight from Tehran, Iran to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), but Iranian authorities forcibly changed the flight route and ordered the plane to land on Kish Island, which is Iranian territory.

Iranian football hero Ali Daei. Photo by AP·Yonhap News

Iranian authorities stated that Daei's wife and daughter were under an exit ban, but Daei denied this. He told the independent ISNA news agency, "If they were banned from leaving, such information should have appeared during the police passport check."

Daei expressed his disbelief over the incident, saying, "I have no idea why this happened," and protested, "Were they trying to arrest terrorists?"

Daei is a legendary striker who scored 109 goals in A matches for the Iranian national football team. His record was the world’s highest goal-scoring record until Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scored 117 goals. He also served as the head coach of the Iranian national team from 2008 to 2009.

Iranian citizens began anti-government protests last September after Mahsa Amini (22), a female university student, was arrested by police for not wearing her hijab properly and died under suspicious circumstances. Daei also posted criticism of the authorities' crackdown on protests on social media.

After returning to Iran last October, Daei had his passport confiscated by the police but got it back a few days later. He told AFP that he did not attend the Qatar World Cup due to the Iranian authorities' suppression of protests.

Earlier this month, Iranian authorities closed Daei’s jewelry store and restaurant located on a fashion street in northern Tehran, citing that he "collaborated with counter-revolutionary groups and in cyberspace to disturb the peace of the market and business."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.