Iranian Players, Coaches Write to FIFA Over ‘Mass Killings’ During Protests

A group of prominent Iranian footballers, coaches, referees and journalists has written an open letter to FIFA, accusing Iranian authorities of mass killings, arrests and intimidation of civilians and athletes during nationwide protests earlier this month.

Here’s a round-up of all the events…

Open letter urges FIFA to speak out

A group of well-known Iranians with deep ties to football have addressed an open letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the presidents of FIFA’s more than 200 member associations, calling on world football’s governing bodies to condemn what they describe as grave human rights violations in Iran.

Dated January 2026, the letter is signed by 20 figures from the sport, including former and current players, coaches, referees, football officials and sports journalists.

Among the signatories are Ali Karimi, who earned 127 caps for Iran, Bakhtiar Rahmani, another former World Cup squad member, along with a coach, a referee and several journalists. Karimi posted the letter to FIFA on his Instagram handle.

Protests described as peaceful civic movement

The signatories say Iran witnessed an extraordinary wave of nationwide civilian protests in January 2026, describing them as a popular and civic movement in which unarmed citizens peacefully demanded fundamental freedoms and basic human rights.

They allege the protests were met with extreme, organised and lethal state violence.

The letter says its claims are based on reports from international news organisations including CBS News and the BBC, documentation from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN special rapporteurs, verified reporting by Iranian and international journalists, and eyewitness accounts gathered by civil society networks and victims’ families.

It adds that a deliberate nationwide shutdown of internet and telecommunications services has made full verification difficult and continues to obstruct the identification of victims.

Allegations of mass civilian killings

According to the letter, reports indicate that more than 36,000 civilians were killed and thousands injured over just two days, January 8 and 9, 2026, during nationwide protests, solely for demanding freedom.

Elsewhere, it refers to information placing the death toll at more than 18,000, noting that some estimates are even higher.

The signatories describe the violence as among the most severe instances of mass civilian killings in recent history and say it constitutes grave crimes under international human rights and humanitarian law.

Footballers named among those killed

The letter names several football figures allegedly killed during the suppression of protests, including Mojtaba Tarshiz, a former top-division player and father of two young children; Saba Rashtian, a women’s football assistant referee; Mehdi Lavasani, a youth football coach; Amirhossein Mohammadzadeh and Ribin Moradi, both footballers; and Mohammad Hajipour, a goalkeeper for Iran’s national beach soccer team.

It states that all lost their lives during the violent crackdown and warns that additional victims from the football community may yet be identified once communications are restored.

Concern over arrests and risk of execution

The letter also raises urgent concern about the fate of Amirhassan Ghaderzadeh, a 19-year-old player with Sepahan Isfahan, who it says faces an imminent risk of execution solely for participating in the protests.

His case has been highlighted by Amnesty International and was condemned by the US State Department last week.

In addition, the signatories allege that several football community members have been arrested upon entering Iran, interrogated and stripped of their travel documents for expressing personal views, which they describe as clear violations of fundamental freedoms.

Call for FIFA to act

Addressing Infantino directly, the letter states that football, “the most influential social phenomenon in the world”, cannot and must not remain silent in the face of executions, killings, arbitrary arrests and threats against athletes.

It calls on FIFA and national football federations to publicly condemn the actions described, demand an immediate halt, use all available legal and disciplinary mechanisms to protect Iranian football figures, and reaffirm that peaceful protest and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights.

The letter concludes that silence in the face of such crimes would amount to abandoning the very principles global football claims to uphold.

Other athletes also reportedly killed

The signatories say at least 22 athletes from other sports, including basketball, rock climbing, wrestling and taekwondo, have also been reported killed during the protests.

The letter further alleges that Iranian authorities are using CCTV footage from shops to compile evidence against protesters and that the deaths of prominent athletes have often received widespread coverage in state-run media.

(With inputs from yMedia)