Al-Arabiya reports that retaliation is swift from the Islamic Republic for four of the Iranian soccer players who showed support for Mir Hossein Mousavi and the opposition protesters by wearing green armbands:

“Four of Iran’s national football players have been forced to ‘retire’ following their World Cup qualifier against South Korea in which some team members sported green armbands in solidarity with the Iranian opposition against the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a known football buff.

The players have been slapped with a life ban, meaning they will not able to play for their country again, and have also had their passports taken away from them, threatening their jobs abroad with European teams.

…The players have also been banned from speaking to the media and are stuck in Iran after returning from Seoul where they failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa folllowing a 1-1 draw against North Korea.”