Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in training with the national soccer team (file photo) (Fars) April 26, 2006 -- There is growing criticism of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's recent order that women should be allowed into soccer stadiums.
Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani was one of a number of conservative clerics and politicians to argue that it is un-Islamic for women to attend men's sporting events.
Another cleric, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirzai, said it was not safe for women.
The order would overturn a ban stretching back over 25 years on women attending soccer matches.
Ahmadinejad justified his decision on the grounds it would help bring morality and chastity to public places.
(ISNA, FARS)
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