Iran football fans chant in solidarity with victims of Abadan building collapse

Thousands of Iranian football fans in the capital Tehran chanted slogans in support of victims of a building collapse and protesters in the southwestern city of Abadan, Iran International reported. 

The fans were gathered at Tehran's Azadi Stadium for an Iranian Pro League match between Esteghlal FC and Naft Masjed Soleyman FC on Monday. 

Tens of thousands of football fans chanted slogans at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium in support for the people of Abadan, who are holding anti-regime protests every day since the collapse of Metropol building. So far 33 bodies have been found, and several others are still missing. pic.twitter.com/IrFwWS1mkr

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 30, 2022

A section of the crowd chanted "Abadan" in solidarity with the people of that city, where a building collapsed last Monday killing at least 34 people.

People in the city have been holding daily protests against the government ever since. 

"In the stadium, and in the celebrations after, many Esteghlalis have chanted slogans in support of the people of Abadan who went through a terrible catastrophe and who have come out in street protests since," Arash Azizi, an Iranian historian and Esteghlal fan told The New Arab.

"Some fans also chanted outright anti-government slogans. [Esteghlal's] captain, Voria Ghafouri, who is well-known as a critic of the regime, said that he couldn't celebrate the win given the catastrophe at Abadan," Azizi added. 

A few days earlier, tens of thousands of Iranians had gathered at the same stadium to sing religious songs and show support for Iran's government and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader.

Authorities blame the collapse of the building on individual corruption and lax safety. Iranian protesters, however, have accused the government of negligence and systematic corruption.

Multiple unverified videos have emerged on Twitter of fans chanting "Reza Shah, Bless Your Soul!", a popular anti-government slogan that refers to the Shah of Iran whose dynasty was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

#IRAN May 30, 2022: Fans of Esteghlal F.C (aka Taj) chanted "Reza Shah, Bless Your Soul!" in the Azadi stadium (aka AriaMehr) during match with Naft Masjed Soleyman F.C. The slogan was chanted in every province since 2018 & soon became one of the most popular anti-regime slogans. pic.twitter.com/SvhhMgi5Np

— Shayan X 🏳️ (@RealShayanX) May 31, 2022

Iranians have been protesting against high food prices and economic problems over the past several weeks.

Some people in the videos circulating on social media have chanted  "Death to Khamenei" in reference to the supreme leader.