Iranian women were allowed into the national stadium in Tehran for the first time in 37 years on Wednesday night.
The women were part of a crowd of thousands that packed into the Azadi stadium to watch Iran take on former World Cup winners Spain on huge television screens.
Police initially barred women from entering, saying they did not have the ‘infrastructure’ in place to deal with such an event, before the country’s interior minister intervened.
The issue has become increasingly hot in recent years, with female protesters dressing up as men in order to sneak themselves inside.
Thousands also flocked to watch Iran play in Russia, knowing the Moscow authorities would not stop them, while those back home complained of the ban.
Women were last allowed inside the stadium on October 5, 1981, to watch the Tehran derby before being banned as part of sweeping reforms that took place in the wake of the Iranian revolution.
The revolution saw the pro-Western but largely corrupt monarchy ousted in favour of an Islamist government that immediately declared the country an Islamic republic.
