Volleyball's governing body (FIVB) has "called for the release of an imprisoned Iranian-British woman who took part in a demonstration at a match in Tehran against a ban on females attending some men's sporting events," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, "was sentenced to a year in jail on Nov. 2 for spreading anti-state propaganda, Iranian media said, after being arrested for demanding that women be allowed to watch a volleyball match between Iran and Italy in June." The Lausanne-based FIVB said in a statement, "The FIVB has called for the release of Ghoncheh Ghavami and has written a letter to the President of Iran, His Excellency Hassan Rouhani, to this effect" (REUTERS, 11/10). The AFP reported the FIVB said that it "will not allow Iran to host international events as long as women are banned from attending the game." A FIVB spokesperson said the organization will “not give Iran the right to host any future FIVB directly controlled events such as World Championships, especially under age, until the ban on women attending volleyball matches is lifted." Iranian volleyball federation Secretary General Mahmoud Afshardoost confirmed that "the FIVB had already informed Iran it not would be able to organize" the U19 championships in '15 (AFP, 11/10).
