Iranian Legend Ali Daei Supports Protests, His Children Are Stationed Off An Airplane On An Island As They Fly To Dubai

Iranian legend Ali Daei. (Wikimedia Commons/Mahdi Zare)

JAKARTA - Iranian football legend Ali Daei, who supported protests following the death of Kurd woman Mahsa Amini, said Monday the plane carrying its children to Dubai was diverted with his family then taken down on an island.

Daei said his wife and daughter were on a Mahan Air flight, which took off from Imam Khomeini Airport in the capital Tehran to Dubai, reported The National News from the news agency Isna, December 27.

But the plane was diverted and asked to land on Iran's Kish Island in the Gulf, where his family was transferred, state news agency Irna said.

Citing the authorities, Irna said that " Daei's wife has promised to notify related institutions of her decision before leaving the country", after "association of them with groups opposing the revolution, rioters and calling for strikes".

"The plane landed at Kish airport and his wife and son Ali Daei got off the plane," said Irna

Former Bayern Munich player, who played in Iran's 2-1 win over the United States at the 1998 World Cup, said he had been threatened after supporting protests in the country.

"My daughter and wife were kicked off the plane, but they were not arrested," said Daei, according to Isna.

"Had they been banned (from leaving), the police passport system should have shown it. Nobody gave me an answer about this. I really don't know what the reason for these things," he continued.

Daei said he was trying to arrange his family's return to Tehran.

"Do they want to catch a terrorist?" He asked.

"My wife and daughter will go to Dubai for a few days and come back," he said.

Protests over the death of a Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini (22) in Iran's moral police custody, due to inappropriate dress on September 16, have grown into anti-government protests, the largest wave of opponents of Tehran's rule since the 1979 Revolution.

Daei on September 27 used his social media to ask the government to "resolution the problems of the Iranian people rather than repression, violence and arrest".

In October, he said his passport was confiscated by the police upon his return from abroad, before being returned to him a few days later.

Furthermore, he said he did not go to the World Cup in Qatar because of the Iranian government's crackdown on protesters.

Recently, its jewelery shop and restaurant north of the fashionable Tehran closed this month, with local media reporting they have been ordered to close due to "cooperation with anti-revolutionary groups in cyberspace, to disrupt peace and business markets".

Daei, 53, is one of the most famous footballers in Iran and the world. He ended his international career in 2006. The former Iranian national team captain became the first male footballer to record more than 100 international goals on 17 November 2004.

The score of 109 international goals when he retired was finally passed by Cristiano Ronaldo in September 2021. However, Daei remains in second place for international goalscorers, under CR7 (118) and outperforms Lionel Messi (98) who has just brought Argentina to the 2022 World Cup champion.

At club level, apart from playing for professional clubs in Iran, Qatar and the UAE, Daei across the German line to defend Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC.