England vs. Iran: For Iranians, this World Cup is about more than football

For the last few months, soccer in Iran has witnessed small acts of defiance against the country's regime amid widespread protests in the country; Sardar Azmoun's refusal to celebrate scoring an equalizer against Senegal and several players changing their social media profile pictures to black.

source https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/21/football/iran-football-world-cup-protests-spt-intl/index.html