There was doubt and confusion in Iran last night about the possibility of female supporters of the Republic of Ireland team being permitted to attend tomorrow afternoon's crucial World Cup play-off game in the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

Under Muslim law in Iran, women are traditionally banned from attending games in order that their modesty not be offended by the swearing of male football supporters or the sight of men in shorts. There had been optimism that an exception would be made in the case of the Irish women travelling for tomorrow's game.

Speaking at the Irish team hotel yesterday, however, Parastoo Youncho of the Iranian Football Federation suggested that conservative influences in Tehran might yet prevent Irish women from gaining admission.

"On the question of the Irish women, I think there will be more talking," she said. "It has not been left in the hands of the football federation. The only thing under our control is the pitch the players play on. I am head of public relations and for me to attend it took many people writing letters on my behalf so that I could enter the stadium.

"If the Irish women come, it is not so certain as has been said previously. Other people have said yes it will happen, but the deputy governor of Tehran has said it will not. Our foreign ministry will decide, probably on Thursday."

The Iranian Embassy in Dublin was still expressing confidence yesterday that Irish women travelling to Tehran would receive a once-off dispensation to attend the game. In Tehran the debate is moving quickly and local women, who are among the most ardent supporters of the national team, have expressed disappointment that Irish women would be allowed to attend a game from which they themselves are banned.

There has also been a delicate shift in attitude among conservative leaders towards international soccer occasions after a jubilant demonstration in Tehran following the 2-1 defeat of Iraq last month turned into a pro-reform demonstration, when chants of "We Love USA" were heard.

The position of women in sport in Iran is one of the more contentious aspects of the reform debate. In 1997, when the national team returned to the country having qualified for the following year's World Cup, 5,000 women broke through a gate into the Azadi stadium to join the celebrations.

On the night of the game itself, women danced in the streets and many removed their veils. The following spring, the authorities granted permission for Mahin Gorji to become the first Iranian female soccer correspondent to attend games. Hopes were high that through the unlikely medium of soccer, the cause of women might be addressed.

The issue has since been debated frequently in parliament but remains a delicate subject. During the 1994 World Cup in the US games were transmitted on a loop delay allowing authorities to replace crowd shots with inserted pictures from domestic games showing everyone wearing Muslim dress. It was felt however that after qualification in 1998 and the celebrations which greeted the team's defeat of the US that things might change.

So much rides on tomorrow's game for Iran that local journalists are predicting large-scale rioting in the city regardless of the result. Defeat will slow everything down, the jubilation of victory will not be permitted to become a political demonstration.