Eight members of the Iranian national football squad have been sentenced to the whip for visiting prostitutes in the Islamic Republic where paid sex is anathema. Two of the eight have already been subjected to 70 and 170 lashes respectively said the officials.
The others still have to face their sentences, which also included fines. The footballers were caught after a raid on a Tehran whorehouse run by three women, two of them sisters. Prostitution has been firmly outlawed in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although the economic woes of recent years have driven more and more young women to resort to selling their bodies.
Despite increased police checks on couples on buses and in public places, and raids on private parties, women can be seen openly solliciting on the streets of wealthy north Tehran. The Iranian team narrowly missed making this year's World Cup in Japan and South Korea after being knocked out in their final qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
Filed by James Shortt
