Protest-Backing Soccer Star’s Family Kept From Leaving Iran

Protest-Backing Soccer Star’s Family Kept From Leaving Iran
Iran's former national soccer team coach Ali Daei before an Asian Cup 2011 qualifying soccer match between Iran and Singapore in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 14, 2009. Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP Photo
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A prominent former soccer player in Iran who has expressed support for anti-regime protests says his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving the country on Monday after their plane made an unannounced stopover en route to Dubai.

Ali Daei, who had his own passport briefly confiscated after returning to the country earlier this year, said his wife and daughter departed from the capital, Tehran, legally before the flight made an unannounced stop on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, where they were questioned by authorities.