Iran’s theocratic government summoned a high-profile footballer for interrogation after footage appeared online showing a male player embracing a female fan following a controversial incident.

Ramin Rezaian, a defender for Tehran’s Esteghlal FC-the oldest professional football club in Iran-was reportedly seen embracing a female supporter in footage that surfaced online. The embrace took place in front of the team’s bus after a match.

The incident has been given much attention, with some critics accusing the player of violating the country’s strict social norms that regulate the interactions between men and women in public. Such displays of affection are considered very inappropriate in Iran, especially outside of marriage, and have received a lot of attention from both the government and conservative elements of society.

Rezaeian, 34, has been capped more than 60 times by Iran. The defender has also played club football in Qatar and Belgium.

According to Islamic law in Iran, which was enacted shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, men and women are banned from making any physical contact unless they are closely related.

Following the revolution, women were generally barred from attending football matches, but in August 2022 they were allowed into a championship match for the first time in more than 40 years. 

In April, Hossein Hosseini, a goalkeeper for Esteghlal, was suspended after embracing a female supporter during a championship match. 

The media said at the time that the football federation had fined the goalkeeper the equivalent of $4,700 and given him a one-match suspension for “bad behaviour towards security agents at the game”.

(With inputs from AFP)