Iranpressnews, an opposition website, said police used force to drive away demonstrators shouting anti-regime slogans during the memorial held for Hejazi at Tehran’s giant Azadi Stadium.
It said some of the slogans were aimed directly at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi, demanding that he resign or be driven from office. Videos of the clashes were posted on several opposition websites.
Hejazi, one of Asia’s premier goalies in the decade before the revolution, died last Monday after a long bout with lung cancer. He was 62.
Hejazi had long been opposed to the government of President Ahmadi-nejad and had recently called him “neglectful of social policy and the economy.”
The regime was obviously fearful that the memorial would turn into a protest. The media, clearly censored, avoided publishing the time and place for the mourning ceremony. The family reportedly wanted it held in midtown Tehran, but the authorities would not permit it there.
Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, reportedly agreed to lead the mourning prayers. But he did not appear at the stadium.
