Famous Football Players Outcry over Mahsa Amini Death

On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, also called Jina Amini or Zhina Amini, died in Tehran, Iran, presumably by the country's controversial morality police for breaking rules on wearing hijab.

Eyewitnesses and Mahsa’s co-detainees asserted that she was severely beaten for resisting the insults of the officers who had arrested them. Some reported cerebral hemorrhage and also stroke based mainly on her clinical scans. However, police said that she had a heart attack at a station, fell on the floor, and died after two days in a coma.

Her death stimulated massive demonstrations throughout the country along with some news releases from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees concentrating on physical violence against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Several leaders, companies, and also stars slammed the occurrence and also asked for help for the demonstrators.

Amini's death caused widespread anger among several social networks. The hashtag #MahsaAmini became one of the most repeated hashtags on Twitter. The number of tweets and retweets of these hashtags exceeded 130 million.

Famous Football Players’ reaction to Mahsa Amini’s Death

A number of celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber, Kim Kardashian, and others reacted to the death of Mahsa Amini. Among them are the following footballers:

Paolo Maldini

, the legend of Italian football and the AC Milan team, reacted to the recent events in Iran and addressed the issue of violence against women and their rights on his Instagram page with the hashtag #MahsaAmini.

He wrote, “I stand with Iranian women and their fundamental rights and freedom” with a heart emoji.

Clarence Seedorf

The former Dutch star of Real Madrid, Inter, and Milan,

, who recently converted to Islam, posted his Iranian wife, Sophia Makramati’s picture and wrote in support of #Mehsa_Amini and Iranian women: "Using violence to undermine people's freedom makes me cry. Please stop it and try to spread prosperity and peace."

Walter Zanga

, the legendary goalkeeper of the Italian national football team and Inter Milan, supported the national uprising of the citizens by reposting a picture of the recent protests in Iran. He also used the hashtag #MahsaAmini.

Pierluigi Casiraghi

Pierluigi Casiraghi, the former Italian national team player who also played in Juventus, Lazio, and Chelsea, published a story on Instagram and wrote with the hashtag #Mahsa Amini: "I stand with Iranian women."

Eric Cantona

, one of the world's football legends, published a photo of an Iranian athlete girl and wrote with the hashtag #Mahsa Amini: “My Iranian friends, I am by your side."

Sam Kerr

, the Australian striker of the Chelsea women's football team, who was selected among the top three women in the world of football last year, showed her support by reposting a post on Instagram about the news of the death of #Mehsa_Amini who died after being beaten by the so-called Ershad police.

Reece James

Chelsea star defender, Reece James who plays in the full-back position for both the English national team and the Chelsea football club posted on his Instagram to raise awareness about the death of 22 years old woman killed in Iran.

To show his support for the deceased young woman, the player shared the sad news of the death of the young lady who was allegedly beaten to death by the morality police of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Roberto Mancini

, the head coach of the Italian national football team, who won the Euro 2020 championship with this team, supported the protests of the Iranian people by republishing a post on Instagram.

In his post, He wrote: "We don't need you to pray for us, we need your support."

Ali Karimi

Protesters across Iran continued to clash violently with security forces following the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody.

Iranian football star Ali Karimi explicitly showed solidarity with the protests in his home country, with the former professional player receiving encouragement from outraged fans.

The former Bayern Munich player showed his solidarity with the movement and posted several videos on Instagram and Twitter, severely criticizing the brutal attacks by the Iranian rulers against the people.

Later, it was reported that his house was confiscated by the Iranian authorities. He wrote on his Instagram page: “A house without a floor is worthless. Take it.”

However, the house of the magician, as his fans call him, was unsealed by the authorities a few hours after it was closed up by local judiciary authorities.

Iranian hardliners had earlier called for his arrest over his support for ongoing protests in Iran.

Alexander Delpiero and Cesc Fabregas’s wives

Sonia Amoruso and Daniella Semaan, the wives of

and

, former legends of Italian and Spanish football, also reacted to the tragic death of Mahsa Amini.

Luciano Spalletti

, the head coach of Italian Serie A club Napoli, brought two roses to his pre-match press conference ahead of Napoli’s clash against Torino, paying tribute to the murdered Iranian women Mahsa Amini and Hadis Najafi.

Hadis was shot dead, allegedly by the authorities, after taking to the streets of Karaj to join the ongoing protests.

When asked why he brought the flowers, he answered, “They are to remember Mahsa Amini and Hadith Najafi, that’s all I’m adding.”

Gianluigi Buffon

expressed his support to Iranian women who are fighting for their freedom and rights after the police killed two girls (Mahsa Amini and Hadith Najafi): “During this period, Iranian women are fighting a battle that is too important for them to be left alone. Faced with this type of abuse, this kind of violence and intolerance, we men must also take a firm and determined side with them.”

Sardar Azmoun

, who plays for the Bundesliga club, Bayer Leverkusen, expressed his anger in an Instagram story and said that he cannot remain silent despite a rule in the team prohibiting the players from speaking out during the team’s World Cup training camp in Austria.

"The ultimate [punishment] is to be kicked out of the national team, which is a small price to pay for even a single strand of Iranian women’s hair. Shame on you for easily killing the people and viva women of Iran," Azmoun added. He, however, deleted the post later on.