Football Club in Iran to Free One Prisoner for Every Goal Scored
Iran’s Persepolis football club says it frees one prisoner jailed over debt or unintentional killing for every goal, with 43 released after 40 goals so far.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iran’s Persepolis football club has launched a scheme to free one prisoner for every goal scored by any of its teams, with the support of philanthropists and fans. The club’s president, Peyman Haddadi, said 43 prisoners have been freed so far this season, according to the Iranian sports website Varzesh3, which reported the news on Oct. 11.
Under the scheme, each goal scored by the club’s football teams helps free one person jailed for an unintentional offense, who then returns to their family. The pledge covers the men’s and women’s senior teams and the club’s four youth teams, Varzesh3 reported. The club is based in Tehran.
In an interview with an Iranian television channel, Haddadi said the club has freed only prisoners jailed over debt or unintentional killing, meaning they did not commit the offense deliberately. For each prisoner, he said, the club pays a sum of money to the opposing party in the case. That party then gives its consent and pardons the prisoner, and the government releases them.
Varzesh3 said the men’s team, coached by Mehdi Tartar, has scored 15 goals in seven league matches and has the best attack in the competition. It has failed to score only against Tractor, and it beat Sanat Naft Abadan by three goals in its most recent match. The outlet said an average of more than two goals per game suggests the team could contribute significantly to the campaign.
The women’s team, coached by Niloufar Ardalan, has won its first three league matches and scored seven goals. It beat Ava Tehran 2-0, Malavan 4-0, and Varesh Noshahr 1-0, and leads the table with nine points. In total, the two senior teams have scored 22 league goals, according to Varzesh3.
Varzesh3 said that if the scoring continues and the scheme applies to all six teams, the number of prisoners freed over the season is expected to pass 100.
This is not the first time Iranian clubs have taken such a stance toward prisoners. Several clubs in the country have previously freed people from jail as a humanitarian gesture, in cases where those jailed had made an unintended mistake.