FRANCE: IRANIAN FANS CELEBRATE WORLD CUP WIN OVER USA (2)

Описание: (22 Jun 1998) English/Nat
Frenzied Iranians spilled out onto the streets of Lyon on Sunday, turning their two-one World Cup victory against the United States into a jubilant rally for dissident leaders.
Thousands removed their red and green football jerseys to reveal white T-shirts bearing photos of Maryam Rajavi.
Rajavi is the wife of Massoud Rajavi who heads the Mujahadeen Khalq resistance movement - the dissidents want her to be president of a new Iran.
Opposition leaders had denounced what they saw as attempts by Tehran to use the team's participation in the World Cup for propaganda.
But thousands of Iranian expatriates and exiles had come to Lyon to simply celebrate Iran's first World Cup appearance since 1978 and to set aside politics for the day.
Some however turned their victory celebrations into a rally for their dissident leaders.
Dancing to pounding drums and bellowing jubilation, they chanted: "Iran Rajavi, Rajavi Iran".
She's seen as the president-elect by the exiled National Council for Iranian Resistance.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"This is a vote of confidence in the Iranian resistance against the Khomeini regime and the Mullahs. We want an Iran without the mullahs. We are very very regretful that there are statements coming out of the United States today trying to prop up this regime. We think American people should support and they do support the Iranian resistance."
SUPER CAPTION: VOX POP, Supporter of Rajavi
The exiled Iranian opposition had already exploited the global television coverage of the politically charged match to make their point.
During the game itself, they unfurled banners in support Rajavi.
Embarrassed stewards tried to get them to take the banners down as they were in defiance of F-I-F-A rules barring political protests from stadiums.
Police moved into a corner of the stadium after the stewards failed to quell the protest and there were minor scuffles, with a number of Iranians ejected.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"For the people of Iran this is an encouragement because their team has won and also they have expressed their views that they will win against this brutal regime at the same time and not allow the regime to take any political advantage.
SUPER CAPTION: Farzin Hashemi, Member of the Fallen Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Perhaps 30-thousand Iranians living in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia had come to Lyon for the game, far outnumbering those travelling from Iran.
But the Mujahadeen Khalq accused France of keeping some Iranians out while allowing in secret agents from Tehran to scan the crowd for people they wanted to punish.
French officials confirmed they turned back hundreds of Iranians at the border.
Bearded men, identified by exiles as Iranian revolutionary guards, filmed faces among the revelry.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...