So, now most Americans are up on their Football (aka Soccer) basics—i.e., the World LOVES Football and for some tis the almost the air they breathe, just ask the South Americans or even the Africans! In Iranian Azerbaijan, they love their football, but more importantly love and want equal rights with the dominant Persian group. Enter the Tiraxtur FC.

Tiraxtur Sazi matches are a fascinatingly sad scene—Azerbaijani fans demanding equal rights.

A top team that gathers a crowd—this video claims more than 120, 000 in and out of the stadium—founded in 1970 with the official name Teraktor Sazi Tabriz Football Club. Yes, there are several variances to the name, but my Azerbaijani sources tell me they prefer to use (and spell) as Tiraxtur.

ADAPP News disseminated the news of yesterday’s protest in Tabriz. (Click here to subscribe!) The first media article (there are several citizen-sources) is available at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty site and I’ve also included it below.

The gist of this story: Azerbaijanis are tired, frustrated, and simply just want the same rights we all enjoy. The Government and the dominant Persian group owe them at least that much. However, hope on this might be dim as the Tiraxtur team is prohibited from having fans in attendance for its next two matches. Something tells me fans will find another way to support and demand equal rights. And here’s hoping the international community hears their voices.

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Demonstrators Demand Right To Education In Azeri Turkish
August 02, 2010

On August 1, some 2,000 to 3,000 people demonstrated in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz to demand the right to be educated in Azeri Turkish and to condemn what they called “discrimination against Azeri Turks in Iran.”

The demonstrators shouted, “Everybody has the right of education in their
mother language,” and, “Long live Azerbaijan, to hell with whomever dislikes
us.”

One of the participants in the protest, Akbar, told RFE/RL that shortly
after the demonstration started, members of the Basij militia — many of
them dressed in civilian clothes — attacked protesters, beating dozens and
arresting at least 12.

The demonstration was reportedly organized by fans of the Tabriz-based
soccer team Tractor, which played a game on July 27 in Tehran against
Persepolis. Akbar said that during the game, fans of Persepolis shouted
abusive slogans against the team from Tabriz, as well as “abusive and
insulting slogans against Azeri Turks in general,” which resulted in clashes
between the two sides.

The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that some 35,000 people attended the match, which ended with a 1-0 victory for Persepolis. The agency reported that damage to the stadium totaled some $200,000 but did not mention the unrest.

The disciplinary committee of Iran’s soccer federation sentenced the Tractor
team to play two games without fans in attendance and Persepolis to play one
game.

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