The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reinstated the accreditation of a veteran Iranian-Australian journalist three days after it had been removed while he was covering Iran’s national team at the Women’s Asian Cup.
Alireza Mohebbi, a journalist with London-based Iran International whose question about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei was shut down at a press conference last weekend, spent some time with a group of Iran fans in the stands during their opening match against South Korea on Monday. When he returned to the media centre, he was pulled aside by a security officer and accused of carrying prohibited flags.
Mohebbi’s accreditation pass was taken and he was escorted him out of the stadium. He was given no opportunity to appeal, and his multiple requests to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and AFC were ignored.
A review by the LOC has since found that there was a misunderstanding in the removal of his accreditation, and it was reinstated late on Wednesday.
Iran International is an independent media outlet headquartered in the UK whose journalists have been increasingly threatened by the regime for their critical reporting of Iran.
“I didn’t do any negative act that was against the rules,” Mohebbi told Guardian Australia. “At no point during the match did any security or media operations staff advise me that I was acting outside the conditions of my accreditation, and had such guidance been given, I would have complied immediately.
“It is important that accredited journalists are able to carry out their work in a professional environment where clear communication is maintained.
“I am pleased that the matter has now been resolved and that my accreditation has been returned, allowing me to continue covering the tournament for Iran International’s global audience. My focus remains on reporting the matches and the experience of the Iranian-Australian community attending the event.”
The day before the match, Mohebbi had asked Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari and captain Zahra Ghanbari about Ayatollah Khamenei, who had been killed by the United States and Israel hours earlier.
“I think we shouldn’t talk about these issues right now,” Jafari replied in Farsi. “A team has come for very important competitions that matter a lot to women. Next question, please.”
An AFC media officer had interjected before Jafari’s answer could be translated, saying: “OK, I think that’s all for your question. Thank you for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself.”
During the match, some Iran fans waved Lion and Sun flags: an old version used by Iranians prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which has recently been revived as a symbol of opposition to the current regime.
Mohebbi was accused of holding the flags alongside the fans, violating his accreditation’s code of conduct policywhich states that “[f]lags, banners or posters … must not contain political, offensive, sexual, discriminatory or commercial content.”
In a statement, an LOC spokesperson said: “Following a standard internal review process between the AFC and the LOC, the matter has now been resolved, and the individual’s accreditation has been reinstated.”
