Iran relaxes men-only soccer rule
Iranian soccer officials have apparently discovered that it is extremely difficult for a team to show a profit when it excludes half it's potential fan base. And then there are those soccer players in those short shorts....
TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iranian women have begun to penetrate the once all-male preserve of soccer stadiums, in a trend that authorities hope will improve the behavior of the Islamic Republic's fanatical male supporters.
Tehran's Peykan club let women journalists and female relatives of players attend a first-division league match on Thursday, in the latest relaxation of the men-only rule.
Women have been generally barred from soccer matches since the 1979 Islamic revolution, officially to protect them from the obscene language and rude gestures aimed by male fans at players from opposing teams.
Many in Iran, where authorities are anxious to enforce modesty in dress, believe the real reason women were barred was to prevent them from seeing men in soccer shirts and shorts.
With women allowed in the stands, officials also expect to see a general drop in belching, crotch-scratching, and dropping trou. This, I suppose, should be considered a good thing....
