Hajsafi hopes national team can be voice for Iran's people at World Cup

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Iran Training - Al Rayyan Sports Club Training, Al Rayyan, Qatar - November 20, 2022 Iran's Ehsan Hajisafi during training REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (Reuters) - Iran defender Ehsan Hajsafi on Sunday spoke out about the difficult conditions for his people back home on the eve of his country's opening World Cup match against England, and said he hoped his team could show them respect and be their voice.

More than two months of protests in Iran, sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman while in custody of the country's morality police, have marked one of the boldest challenges to its clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.