Footie aces who risk the ultimate penalty

PROTESTING PLAYERS SENTENCED TO DEATH

- by ANDY LINES and SAM KUNTI

FOOTBALLERS in Iran are being deliberately targeted and killed, it is claimed.

There are now demands for Fifa to step in and put pressure on the authorities to stop further bloodshed - especially as the nation has qualified for the World Cup.

And there is desperate concern over two players in particular who are currently being held in Iranian jails.

They both face the death penalty.

One is Amir Ghaderzadeh, a 19-year-old striker for topflight club Sepahan.

The other is Mohammad Hossein Hosseini, a 26-year-old who used to play for Persepolis but was banned from the game by the country’s religious fundamentalist regime after taking part in protests.

The pair have become symbols for a generation of footballers and other athletes which is falling victim to the brutal regime of Iran.

University research fellow in sports and social sustainability Zohreh Abdollahkhani said: “They are at imminent risk of execution.