Key Points
- The Brazilian football team has arrived in Brisbane for the Women’s World Cup.
- The plane on which they landed had pictures of Iranian protesters Mahsa Amini and Amir Nasr Azadani on the tail.
- Amini was detained for not wearing a headscarf and died in custody in 2022.
Brazil arrived at the Women's World Cup in Australia on a plane that paid tribute to Iran protesters Mahsa Amini and Amir Nasr Azadani.
Its tail has images of Amini and Azadani, while writing on its body says 'No woman should be forced to cover her head' and 'No man should be hanged for saying this'.
Amini's arrest for not wearing a headscarf - and subsequent death in hospital after collapsing in custody - was the catalyst for mass protests in Iran in 2022.
Azadani, a former football player, was arrested during the protests and was given a jail term of 26 years.
During the men's World Cup in Qatar in 2022, matches involving Iran became focal points for protesters both inside and outside of the stadiums.
Iran is not represented at the Women's World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.
Brazil, who landed in Brisbane on Tuesday, are in Group F alongside France, Jamaica and Panama.
FIFA and the Brazilian Football Federation - the CBF - did not immediately respond when asked to comment.
An plane with a higher calling
The charter plane, a Dreamliner 787, has a humanitarian backstory.
It belongs to Argentinian filmmaker Enrique Piñeyro, and it's been used to evacuate refugees from various parts of the world.
Piñeyro's humanitarian organization, Solidaire, used the plane to evacuate hundreds of Afghanis following the US military's withdrawal from their country in mid-2022.
The Solidaire aircraft was also used to take Ukrainian refugees to other parts of Europe, working alongside NGOs that find them homes in other countries.
