TEHRAN - The Iranian football federation has apologized to the women who were prevented from attending the qualifying match against Lebanon.

The Iranian team defeated Lebanon 2-0 in Group A of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

Originally the sports ministry had made 2,000 tickets available to women for the match but they were prevented from entering.

The final qualifier took place in Mashhad's Emam Reza Stadium, where the 'Persian Leopards' won the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

The Iranian women were sprayed after trying to enter the stadium.

The football federation announced that it feels responsible for what happened in Mashhad and is sorry about that.