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Iranian soccer legend backs Israel: 'This is the bill for 46 years bullying'
Ali Karimi, one of Iran’s most celebrated soccer players and a longtime critic of the regime, denounces Tehran’s leadership and supports Israeli strikes in rare public statement; 'The bloodthirsty and criminal enemies of Iran and the Iranians are you'
Ynet | published:06.15.25 | 01:01www.ynetnews.com
Iranian soccer legend Ali Karimi, a vocal opponent of Iran’s ruling clerics, publicly voiced support for Israel amid the escalating fighting between Jerusalem and Tehran, delivering one of the most forceful condemnations yet by an Iranian public figure.
Karimi, widely considered one of the greatest soccer players in Iran’s history and a fierce critic of the Islamic Republic, addressed the regime and its supporters in a post on X, formerly Twitter, accusing them of decades of repression and calling the current war the price of their "drunkenness with power."
“I speak to the Islamic Republic and its supporters: in 2009 you didn’t listen to the people—you raped, tortured and killed,” he wrote, and accused the regime of failing to heed the public’s pleas again in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
“Now you’re trapped at the dead end of your own stupidity. Don’t cry to the people.”
Referring to Israel’s military campaign, Karimi added: “Israel’s attack is the bill for your forty-six years of drunkenness with power, thuggery and bullying. Pay it yourselves, you scum.
"The bloodthirsty and criminal enemies of Iran and the Iranians are you. It’s you who must go and get lost in the black hole of history, enemies of Iran and the Iranians.”
Karimi, 46, has been a persistent critic of the regime and its regional allies. Following Israel's exploding pager operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year, which also injured several high-ranking Iranian officials, Karimi praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invoked the memory of Iranians lost in past wars.
“On this day of remembrance for those who died in the Iran-Iraq war, hit them as hard as you can, Bibi,” Karimi wrote, using the Israeli leader's nickname. “That will be the true remedy for the pain of Iran and the Iranian people,” ending the post with hashtags like “At your command, Netanyahu” and “Bibi goal.”
His political activism dates back years. During the 2022 uprising sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s morality police, Karimi called for the downfall of the mullah regime. “Iranians are more united today than ever, even if they shut down the internet,” he wrote at the time. “Iranian army, your homeland is waiting. Don’t let innocent blood be spilled. Like my fellow citizens, I don’t seek power, just peace and dignity across my land.”
In response, Iranian authorities seized Karimi’s home in northern Tehran, reportedly under the direction of a local prosecutor. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also called for his arrest, accusing him of inciting rebellion to his more than 11 million Instagram followers.
During his 18-year career, Karimi scored 127 goals and made 127 appearances for the Iranian national team, netting 38 times. Nicknamed the “Asian Maradona,” he enjoyed a successful European stint with Bayern Munich and Schalke, winning two Bundesliga titles and two domestic cups with Bayern in 2005 and 2006.
