Families Of Iranian Soccer Players Threatened With ‘Dire’ Consequences Prior To U.S. Match

Ahead of the big game with the U.S., Iranian officials are said to have threatened the families of their national soccer team’s players. They have declared that if they don’t “behave” for the match, “violence and torture” could go forth back home.

It was reported on Monday that individuals in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had a meeting recently with the nation’s players to make sure that they understood their guidelines.

Previously, Iranian players had supported demonstrators in their country by not singing its national anthem prior to the match against England on Nov. 21.

However, prior to the game in Wales a few days following that, players began singing the song again.

The IRGC has pointed out there is to be no more protests in the World Cup, this includes the highly anticipated match against the U.S. that will occur on Tuesday. If protest do occur, they have warned of serious consequences.

Tensions surrounding the match up have already been building after the U.S. modified an Iranian flag on social media this past weekend in order to show support in the foreign nation.

Iran’s state media has requested that FIFA kick the U.S. out of the World Cup because of it.

Gregg Berhalter, USMNT head coach, apologized for the posts on Monday. However, he stated that he and his team were not involved in uploading the posts.