However, a tragic incident has returned the situation to the spotlight.

News came through from Iran this week about the death of 29-year-old Sahar Khodayari, nicknamed "the blue girl" after her love for Iranian team Esteghlal.

Khodayari had been arrested in March for disguising herself as a man and trying to sneak into a football match between Esteghlal and Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates, at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

She was released pending a court case, but upon returning to Ershad Courthouse to collect her phone on September 2, Khodayari reportedly overheard she could be tried by a revolutionary court and imprisoned for six months.

She then poured petrol over her body on the steps of the court and set herself on fire, as reported by Iranian news website Rokna. Khodayari passed away from her injuries this week, having suffered burns across 90 per cent of her body.

Her death has been widely reported across the world, catching the attention of media and prominent sportspeople alike. The pressure on FIFA to do something about the ban has also increased. Human rights groups have been particularly critical, accusing football's governing body of going against their own rules.

"Sahar's tragic arrest, jailing, and suicide attempt underscore the need for Iran to end its ban on women attending sports matches – and the urgency for regulating bodies such as FIFA to enforce its own human rights rules," said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch.

"FIFA's long delay in enforcing its own rules means the ban continues and leaves the brave women and girls in Iran who challenge the ban exposed to harassment, beatings and arrests by the Iranian authorities.

"FIFA urgently needs to uphold its own human rights rules, end gender discrimination, and punish violators."

Groups such as Amnesty International and Open Stadiums have also been outspoken.

Indeed, FIFA President Gianni Infantino admitted himself, in a letter to the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), that the ban goes against his organisation's policies. Written in June, Infantino was attempting to seek assurances that women would be allowed to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this year.

"Whilst we are aware of the challenges and cultural sensitivities, we simply have to continue making progress here, not only because we owe it to women all over the world, but also because we have a responsibility to do so, under the most basic principles set out in the FIFA Statutes," he wrote.

So, what exactly does FIFA policy say about discrimination against women?

"Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion," reads Article Four in the June 2019 edition of FIFA Statues.

If FIFA was to follow its own rules, it should be either suspending or expelling the FFIRI. After the death of a woman who simply wanted to go to a football match, this is indeed what I think it should be doing.

It's not exactly like this ban has come out of the blue, or it is the first time FIFA has been urged to do something to help the women of Iran. The situation has been going on since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. That's 40 years now.

Some progress has been made, with 100 Iranian women allowed to watch the men's national team friendly against Bolivia last October, and 500 women attending the AFC Champions League final match in Tehran between Persepolis and Japan's Kashima Antlers the following month.

There was a backlash against these concessions, however, with women arrested in June for attempting to watch Iran's friendly against Syria. The country's chief prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri also described the attendance of women at the friendly against Bolivia as "sinful."

This is why I am not buying into reports by the Islamic Republic News Agency that women will be allowed to watch Iran's match against Cambodia at the Azadi Stadium on October 10.

Even if they are able to attend, there have been no guarantees that the relaxation of the ban will continue. It could instead illicit yet another crackdown on women trying to get into other fixtures.  

Now a human life has been lost and the situation has escalated dramatically, but FIFA is still not taking significant action.

"We are aware of that tragedy and deeply regret it," was its response to Khodayari's death.

"FIFA convey our condolences to the family and friends of Sahar and reiterate our calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure the freedom and safety of any women engaged in this legitimate fight to end the stadium ban for women in Iran."

This is not good enough. FIFA needs to stop being so disingenuous and follow its own rules.

When Infantino wrote to the FFIRI in June, he gave the federation a July 15 deadline to permit women to buy tickets for October's match against Cambodia. This, obviously, was missed. That is justification enough to suspend the FFIRI, with the threat of expulsion until the ban on women is lifted. The FFIRI failed to comply with FIFA, and should therefore be punished.

What is going to happen otherwise? If FIFA just "reiterate their calls" to Iran without actually doing anything, women will continue to be excluded from football matches. In that situation, football's governing body will come across completely powerless.

But it is not. The Iranian men's team are the highest ranked in Asia, and having appeared at the last two FIFA World Cups, have a strong chance of booking a place at the 2022 edition in Qatar.

Imagine if FIFA was to suspend the FFIRI and Iran were unable to compete in their upcoming World Cup qualifying matches? This kind of action would surely see the ban lifted.

At the moment, however, FIFA is exposing its own hypocrisy and failing to sufficiently act on one of the most obvious cases of discrimination against women in the footballing world. 

If the death of an innocent female fan will not see them take decisive action, what will?