Iran wants to give Ronaldo a special SIM card to access unblocked internet

Tehran, Iran – Iran wants to give Cristiano Ronaldo and other foreign football players who will soon travel to Tehran a special SIM card that will allow them to access the internet without restrictions – something Iranian citizens cannot do – which has angered some in Iran.

Reza Darvish, the president of Persepolis FC, the football club that will face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in an AFC Champions League tie next week in Tehran, told state television on Tuesday that some people “who want to tarnish our reputation” tell footballers not to come to Iran because they won’t have access to unfiltered internet

I have spoken with the CEO of [major mobile carrier] Irancell, and I told him we want to give players and personnel Irancell SIM cards with unrestricted internet so they can use it from the time they enter Iran till the time they leave,” he said

The internet in Iran is heavily restricted, and tens of thousands of websites and all major global messaging and social media platforms are blocked.

The restrictions were only significantly ramped up after mid-September 2022 when the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked protests across the country that lasted for months

At the time, authorities argued that foreign platforms, which cannot be locally supervised, were being used to endanger the national security of the country as foreign powers were accused of supporting “riots” across Iran