CNN
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Three years after fleeing Iran, the chess referee shohre bayat Fears grew further after he challenged the sport’s governing body and its president, Russia’s former deputy prime minister, over his choice of clothing at a tournament in October.
Back in 2020, Bayat was criticized in Iran for not wearing a proper headscarf at the Women’s World Chess Championships in China and Russia. He refused to bow to the pressure of the regime, but as a result, he did did not return home for fear of punishment.
Now, three years later, Bayat has hacked the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and its president for dressing in support of the Iranian protest and the people of Ukraine.
Bayat, 35, who now lives in London with her husband, most recently officiated at the 2022 Fischer Random World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland in October.
The tournament was another opportunity for Bayat to hire some of the sport’s biggest stars, although it came at a difficult time as protests spread in his home country of Iran following his death. Mahsa Amini,
The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died in mid-September after being detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly not following the country’s conservative dress code, sparking outrage over multiple complaints with the regime. Spread.
“It reminded me of my own story,” Bayat told CNN. “So I decided to stand up for women’s rights in Iran. During the tournament I wore a T-shirt with the motto of the Iranian people ‘WomanlifeFreedom’ and I wanted to stand with them.”
Bayat said that after the first day of wearing the T-shirt, a FIDE official informally told him not to wear it.
In a statement sent to CNN, FIDE said that “arbitrators at top events are required to dress with appropriate decorum and discretion” and Bayat “given direct instructions to them to refrain from wearing slogans or mottoes”. disregarded.”
According to Bayat, such rules are not found in FIDE’s arbiter handbook and he says that no dress code was given for the event in Iceland.
The arbiter’s handbook states that officials “must adhere to the dress code” and that they must be “properly dressed to help improve the image of chess as a sport.” CNN has reached out to FIDE to clarify the expected dress code for the October event.
Frustrated by requests to stop chanting the slogan, Bayat said she decided she wasn’t breaking any rules, so she wore it again the next day.
Bayat says he was once again asked by an official to remove it, only this time he was told that the request came from FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and who participated in the tournament in Iceland.
Bayat said that Dvorkovich never spoke to her about the T-shirt in person, even when she was in the same room as him wearing it.
However, Dvorkovich messaged him on WhatsApp – a message seen by CNN – to request Bayat not to use official FIDE events for “political purposes”.
Angered by Dvorkovich’s request, Bayat says he responded immediately but then deleted his “emotional” reply.
Bayat then informed Dvorkovich that she would not be wearing the T-shirt the next day, although she wanted to “do the right thing”.
Given that FIDE charter Stating in the statement that it is “committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and will strive to promote the protection of these rights,” Bayat said it decided it had not violated any rules. Have done
Bayat said, “I thought carefully, and I realized that it was not me who was politicizing chess, but Arkady.”
“I was following the FIDE rules, but Arkady was breaking them by refusing to let me stand up for women’s rights in Iran.”
FIDE refuted any notion that politics played a role in Dvorkovich’s request for the buyout.
“We weren’t judging his ideas or his activism, but the platform and the moment he chose to do it,” FIDE told CNN.
The next day, Bayat, who has not seen her parents since leaving Iran three years ago, said she bought a blue and yellow dress and wore it in support of the Ukrainian people fighting against the Russian invasion. Same in memory of the Russian invasion. 176 people Killed when Iran said it inadvertently shot down a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran in 2020.
Iranian chess referee seeking asylum in UK
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– Source: CNN
She says nothing was said to her about the blue and yellow dress, but since leaving the tournament in Iceland, Bayat told CNN that she has not been invited to any other FIDE events, despite the organization recognizing her. has been done. best female moderator in Europe in 2022.
Bayat said he was initially removed from the Arbiters Commission – a registry of all qualified arbiters – and in a message seen by CNN, a top FIDE official told him it was because of his associations in Iceland.
His name is currently listed on the database and FIDE told CNN that Bayat was still too in contention to officiate future events, but that it “has more international arbiters than world events, so we’ve got to establish some rotation”. need to.”
FIDE President Dvorkovich was first elected in 2018 and was re-elected for a second term in August. Prior to this, the 50-year-old served as Russia’s deputy prime minister between 2012-2018, following a stint as the Kremlin’s top economic advisor.
The Kremlin welcomed Dvorkovich’s re-election as FIDE president last year, but he has always maintained his closeness to the Kremlin will not affect his work for FIDE and that he is the most influential person in Russia. He was one of the senior establishment figures. question the war in Ukraine.
However, Bayat told CNN that he believes Dvorkovich is not accepting criticism of Iran because of Russia’s ties with the country. Iran continues to support Russia with logistical support to war in Ukraine.
She points to FIDE’s handling of the Iranian Chess Federation as further evidence of this.
Dvorkovich wrote a letter In 2020 he reportedly told his players not to play against Israeli opponents after Iran urged them to follow FIDE rules.
The acting president of the Chess Federation of Iran responded, saying that Iran has consistently been in compliance with FIDE’s rules and regulations, and that athletes themselves decide which tournaments to participate in.
Despite being warned, Iranian players are still losing games And FIDE hasn’t taken any concrete action yet.
Bayat said, “I find it extremely ironic that FIDE finds my human rights T-shirt political, but when the Iran Chess Federation repeatedly forces its players not to play against Israel, FIDE remains silent.” and turns a blind eye to it.”
When asked by CNN whether it believed Dvorkovich was acting without pressure from Russian authorities regarding Bayat’s support of the Iranian protests, FIDE said it had full and complete faith in him.
“While we respect Ms. Bayat’s political stances and activities, any FIDE officials are required to observe political neutrality while on duty, and may have an arbiter in all official positions, that integrity, neutrality demands high standards, and discretion,” FIDE said in a statement to CNN.
“No matter how noble or noncontroversial the cause, acting from that role is inappropriate and unprofessional. He was actually asked not to raise any slogans while acting as a moderator and explained the reasons for the same.
Bayat’s activism has caught the attention of the biggest names in the sport after Iranian chess referee Tweeted About the incident again on Sunday.
US Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura recently tweeted “#WomenLifeFreedom #IStandWithUkraine” in response to a message about Bayat. Tweet,
Meanwhile, Peter Heine Nielsen is the coach of chess superstar Magnus Carlsen. Tweeted: “The chess world needs to make up its mind. Which side are we really on?”
Bayat, who now also works in primary schools teaching chess, said the support she has received is “heartbreaking” because it was when she first sought asylum in England in 2020.
“I was trying to support Iranian women in the beginning. I think it’s important and it’s nice to see other people supporting me in doing the right thing.