Iran threatened families of national soccer team with 'imprisonment and torture' ahead of U.S. match 

Iran threatened the families of the national soccer team with “imprisonment and torture” if the players didn’t “behave” ahead of the match against the United States on Tuesday, a source involved in the security of the games said. 

The source said that the players of the Iranian team were called to a meeting with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after they refused to sing their national anthem in their opening match against England on November 21. 

The players were told their families would face “violence and torture” if they pulled a stunt like that again or joined a political protest, added the source, who is monitoring Iran’s security agencies during the World Cup. 

Before their game against Wales on Sunday, the team sang the national anthem. 

The source added that dozens of officers from the IRGC were brought in to monitor the Iranian soccer players, who are not allowed to meet with anyone besides the team. 

“There are a large number of Iranian security officers in Qatar collecting information and monitoring the players,” the source said.

“In the last game against Wales, the regime sent over hundreds of these actor supporters in order to create a false sense of support and favor amongst the fans. For the next game against the U.S, the regime is planning to significantly increase the number of actors into the thousands,” the source said.

The coach for the Iranian team, Portuguese Carlos Quieroz, also reportedly met with the IRGC. However, he has said that his players can protest at the world cup as long as it is within FIFA regulations. 

Iran and the U.S. play against each other on Tuesday.