He came steaming out of his penalty area and missed an attempted clearance, clattering Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi in the process.
Initially given a yellow card, following a VAR check after protests from the Iranian team, Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar changed his mind and sent the Welsh goalie off the pitch, reducing the Welsh side down to 10 men.
The defeat leaves Wales at the bottom of Group B. Their next match is against England on Tuesday, who face USA later tonight.
Wales will now have to beat England in the final group game to be in with a chance of reaching the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup – something they have not achieved since 1958.
Advertisement
Iran‘s hopes of qualification remain alive after today’s win.
Image: Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian (R) scores their side’s second goal
Image: Iran’s Sardar Azmoun hits the post
Rob Page’s team were rattled at times during the match, with Iran continuously issuing reminders of the danger they posed.
Iran hit the post twice before goalkeeper Hennessey pulled off a quick-reaction save to keep the score level.
Wales rarely tested the Iranian defence, and appeared to be relying on another moment of magic from captain Gareth Bale.
They came closest when a shot from Ben Davies in the 83rd minute was tipped over by Iran’s goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini.
The introduction of Daniel James and Brennan Johnson gave Wales more attacking potency, but Iran still looked a threat at the other end and after Hennessey’s sending off, they capitalised on their one-man advantage.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:54
‘We want England to win!’ says Welsh fans after suffering heartbreak in Qatar
‘It’s gutting, we’re gutted’
Wales captain Gareth Bale told the BBC: “It’s gutting, we’re gutted. There’s no other way to say it.
“We fought until the last second but it’s one of those things, it’s difficult to take, but we have to recover and go again.”
Page said: “Our performance before the red card was not acceptable. We hoped it would all come together today, but we were nowhere near the levels we’ve set and the standards we’ve set in recent games.
“One or two you can carry, but when there are so many off days there is only one outcome.
“I always take responsibility, that’s my team, the sending off didn’t help of course but at that point we had five forwards on the pitch so couldn’t get a defensive shape.
“But yes I’ll always take responsibility for performances. It’s a difficult changing room at the minute but we will be ready [against England], it’s a local derby and a great game to finish on and we’ll be prepared to go.”
Ticketing problems and Iranian protests
Much of the focus was on off-field matters ahead of kick-off, with fans encountering more ticketing problems as they attempted to enter the stadium, and confrontations between Iranian regime supporters and protesters.
Iran’s national anthem was met with loud jeers inside the ground – but the Iranian team this time did sing it, having refused to during their World Cup opener against England.
Their silence was viewed as a show of unity for mass anti-government protests in their country.
Today, though lacking in gusto, they decided not to remain silent.
Despite their heartbreak at the result, pre-kick off, Wales fans celebrated being allowed to wear rainbow bucket hats and take rainbow flags to today’s game.
The agreement, specifically between FIFA and the Football Association of Wales only – comes after the first week of the tournament has been marred by the governing body’s handling of LGBTQ+ symbols.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Image: Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
More on London Marathon 2025
Related Topics:
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
More on Electoral Dysfunction
Related Topics:
A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.