Background and career
Voria Ghafouri (Kurdish: وریا غەفووری, romanized: Wirya Xefûrî; Persian: وریا غفوری; born 19 November 1987) is an Iranian retired footballer. He has played much of his career as a right-back and also played as a right winger occasionally.
Before joining Esteghlal in 2016, Ghafouri spent a successful two-year spell with Sepahan, winning the Iranian League in 2015. Ghafouri debuted for Iran in 2014 against South Korea. He was part of Iran's squad in the 2015 and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
During the 2022 World Cup, Voria Ghafouri was arrested for speaking publicly online against the violent repression of Iranian protesters. He is an activist for the civil rights of human rights and has repeatedly published his views.
