across the stadium, the atmosphere crackled. For England, this was the most eagerly anticipated

match for months. The first battle for the men's football team in their bid to win the

World Cup. But for the opposition, the tension was about more than football.

Before the game, none of the Iran players sang the national anthem of the Islamic Republic

of Iran. Well, the word visible acts of protest in the stadium by some fans against the actions

of the Tehran regime, numerous shirts and banners displayed the protest slogan, women,

life and freedom. As you can see, another banner read, this is not Iran's national team.

It is the Islamic Republic's team.

These acts of defiance spread wherever Iran appeared on the world stage. There was the

rock climber who refused to wear a hijab, or the chess player who did the same, the Iranian

fans holding up banners. They provided a glimpse of the much bigger pro-democracy protests

that have continued for over four months across Iran and the Iranian diaspora.

Unprecedented scenes in the Islamic Republic of Iran, schoolgirls across the country

are fouling the law, some uncovering their hair, many even chanting death to the dictator.

Protesters have taken to the streets across the world from London to Paris. They have been

protest and they bring Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

Descent in Iran brings terrible consequences. The authorities have unleashed a ferocious

crackdown on protestors.

My friends and I were out protesting at night, and we were arrested, we were tortured, sexually abused.

Members of Iran's notorious revolutionary guard, or IRGC, have been singled out on the internet

for the brutal treatment of peaceful protestors. On the 9th of January, hashtag IRGC Terrorist

tweeted more than 320,000 times.

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