Via Al Arabiya:

Iranian women report they are being barred from attending a major volleyball tournament featuring the Olympic-bound men’s national team, reigniting a debate about whether Iran should be allowed to host international matches.

Despite a commitment from volleyball’s world governing body that women would be able to attend this weekend’s World League tournament at the Azadi Sport Complex in Tehran, Iranian women who have pushed to make sporting events more open say they haven’t been able to purchase tickets despite multiple efforts to buy them online.

Female fans are traditionally barred from attending male-only sporting events in Iran – efforts by authorities to enforce strict interpretations of Islamic norms – but many women are pushing to change that practice.

The International Federation of Volleyball, Switzerland-based FIVB, streamed the Argentina-Italy and Iran-Serbia matches Friday, showing a section of women in the stands. It was unclear if the women were members of the general public or invited guests and VIPs. A female announcer handled substitutions during Iran’s match.

FIVB released a statement noting that the Iranian federation said Friday's matches sold out within five minutes, and that 466 of the 5,000 tickets were allotted for a section set aside for women. The area of seats, shown repeatedly on the livestream, didn’t appear that large.