Iranians furious over C.Ronaldo being granted special internet access during visit

Many Iranian citizens are furious over several visiting football players, including world-famous Cristiano Ronaldo, possibly being offered a special SIM card to be used for bypassing tough internet restrictions during their stay in Iran amid an upcoming match.

According to Pakistani Samaa, the President of Persepolis FC, the football club that will face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia next week, has said on state television that some people “who want to tarnish our reputation” tell footballers not to come to Iran because they won’t have access to unfiltered internet.

"I have spoken with the CEO of [major mobile carrier] Irancell, and I told him we want to give players and personnel Irancell SIM cards with unrestricted internet so they can use it from the time they enter Iran till the time they leave", President Darvish said.

Iran has some of the toughest restrictions in place for internet usage, which have only been restricted even further following the nationwide government protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. The last two remaining major social platforms, WhatsApp and Instagram were blocked during that time as authorities believed they were used by foreign powers to support the riots.