Iran bans women from football stadium again

Iran has once again denied women entry to a football stadium to watch an international match, leaving hundreds of ticketed fans locked out, Iranian media said. 

 The World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Tuesday night, won 2-0 by Iran, was played at the Imam Reza stadium in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

 "About 2,000 Iranian women, who had bought tickets for the Iran-Lebanon match, were present in the perimeter of Imam Reza stadium, but could not enter the stadium," ISNA news agency said. 

 "For this match, 12,500 tickets were sold, of which 2,000 were for women," it added. Mohsen Davari, governor of Mashhad, told IRIB state television: "I apologise that many people couldn't enter the stadium... "Unfortunately, a large number of people outside the stadium were deprived of watching the game." 

 In the face of the controversy, President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday ordered the interior ministry to look into the incident. 

 In January, women were allowed to attend an international for the first time in almost three years, for a World Cup qualifier against Iraq.