Iran's TV censors draw ridicule, protests
The Iranian state broadcaster’s censorship style reached new heights of ridicule and criticism when it blurred an Italian soccer team's logo.
Censorship is nothing new for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), but particularly awkward editing has recently brought the state broadcaster international ridicule.
The censoring of sports events and movies is common on Iranian television. Iranian viewers have grown accustomed to shots of the audience being cut from live coverage of sports competitions. But IRIB made world headlines when it meddled with an Italian soccer club’s logo during its live coverage of UEFA Champions League soccer. While covering the April 4 quarter final game between AS Roma and FC Barcelona, IRIB producers decided to blur out a section of Roma's iconic logo of a she-wolf suckling twins.
