Members of the Iranian World Cup national football team have worn green in a brave move to support free and fair elections in their homeland.
Many soccer players for Iran wore green cloth around their arms, video and pictures showed.
The Iranian team players took the wrist bands off after half time, reports said. However there was no confirmation as yet from the Iranian soccer players if the green cloth many of the team wore was a symbol against the election results and in support of those in Iran protesting in the streets for a fair election.
Iran bloggers speculated that chairman of the (FFI) Iranian Football Federation, Ali Abadi, who is an ally of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, telephoned Iranian football officials in Seoul during half time and instructed the players to remove the green wristbands.
Some of the players, however, did not obey, reports said.
Before, during and after the South Korea- Iran world cup qualifying match, that ended in a 1-1 draw, dozens of Iranian supporters staged a protest to condemn the election results.
Football fans supporting the Iran team unfurled a banner that read, "Go To Hell Dictator," and chanted, "Compatriots, we will be with you to the end with the same heart," at the protest outside a Seoul stadium.
During the match, reports said the Iranian football fans and anti-Iranian government protesters displayed the same "Go to Hell Dictator" banner, held up green paper signs reading "Where is my vote?" and waved Iranian flags with "Free Iran" printed on them.
Its not clear if the banner signs made it live to air on Iranian national TV, where the match was being broadcast to millions.
The Iran world cup qualifier draw with South Korea was a blow to the nations hopes of reaching the World Cup football finals in South Africa, but Iran still has a chance of qualifying in a third spot playoff.
Video: Iran soccer player, Masoud Shojaei scored for his country....
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