Iran: Men vs. women football game draws punishment
International Herald Tribune
26-Jan-2009

TEHRAN, Iran: An Iranian football club said Monday it has suspended three officials for allowing the club's female team and its youth male squad to play against one another — the first such match since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Esteghlal, one of Iran's top two football clubs, said its disciplinary committee suspended two officials for a year each while a third person was suspended for six months. A fourth official was fined, a report posted on the club's Web site said.

It was the first time in the 30 years of Iran's Islamic establishment that men and women played football together. Iran's strict Islamic rules ban any physical contact between unrelated men and women.

The club said the match was held at Marqoobkar stadium in south Tehran. It didn't provide further details but newspaper reports said it took place Jan. 20.

Vatan-e-Emrooz daily said the men's youth team beat the women's side 7-0 in a game described as 'historic.' Video clips recorded on cell phones were used as evidence against the suspended officials who initially denied the game was held, the paper said.

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