TEHERAN (AFP) - Hundreds of Iranian women attended a crunch men's football match in Teheran, in a rare step seen on Sunday (Nov 11) as a "victory" by local newspapers and hailed by Fifa as an "historic and festive day" for the sport.

About a thousand women were allowed into Azadi Stadium late on Saturday to watch Iranian giant Persepolis battle it out in the Asian Champions League second leg with Japan's Kashima Antlers, an AFP reporter said.

The Japanese side triumphed 2-0 on aggregate, after a goal-less draw, but for the reformist Etemad newspaper the clear winners were Iranian women.

"Women were the winners of Azadi ("Freedom" in Farsi) match," it said in a bold headline on its front page.

A picture on the front page of another reformist daily, Sazandegi, showed women cheering at the stadium with a headline reading: "Iranian women's victory in Asian finals". Haft-e Sobh newspaper, which has no marked political affiliation, carried a banner headline on its front page that said: "A thousand real women."

The Asian Football Confederation and Fifa leaders praised the attendance of women at the match, in a joint statement.

"I thank the authorities in Iran for making it possible for a diverse and socially representative crowd to witness an extraordinary occasion," said AFC president Salman al-Khalifa.

"Tonight, was historic in so many ways," he said.

Gianni Infantino, head of world football's governing body Fifa who attended the match, said he was "delighted to personally" see Iranian female football fans inside the 100,000-capacity stadium.

"Today is a historic and festive day for football, a real breakthrough," Infantino said.

Kashima's Asian Champions League title was the first in their history. They had won the first leg 2-0 in Kashima last week with Brazilian duo Leo Silva and Serginho on target.

That left Persepolis, also chasing their first continental title, with plenty to do in Teheran and although they created several chances, Go Oiwa's men held on to their two-goal advantage.

'Handpicked' female fans

Women were barred from attending matches after the 1979 Islamic revolution, with clerics arguing they must be protected from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.

They have also worried about the crush of men and women when leaving stadiums.

The ban on women in stadiums has been frequently criticised from across the political spectrum.

On Sunday, state-run IRNA reported that authorities had allowed a select group of 850 women fans to attend the match.

Sazandegi newspaper said most were "handpicked" and included female relatives of the local side as well as women football and futsal players.

Reformist newspaper Shargh reported that about 500 female fans were kept outside the stadium gates.

The AFP reporter said the women who entered were seated in a separate stand inside the stadium and allowed inside two hours before the game started to avoid a crush.

After the revolution almost 40 years ago, women were allowed to attend a football match in Iran for the first time in November 2001 when around 20 Irish women were among the crowd for an Iran-Ireland World Cup qualifier.

Iranian women had to wait four more years, until June 8, 2005 when a few dozen were allowed to watch an Iran-Bahrain match, also a World Cup qualifier.

After that match, women were rarely allowed to watch men's football in stadiums and in very limited numbers.

On Oct 16, however, for the first time, as many as 100 Iranian women entered Azadi stadium for a friendly between Iran and Bolivia.

The following day, Iran's prosecutor general warned there would be no repeat of women watching football inside stadiums, saying it would "lead to sin".

But Iran's first vice-president, Eshaq Jahangiri, urged sports authorities "not to allow politics to affect football", quoted by IRNA.

Kashima's triumph was the second straight year a Japanese team had won the title, following Urawa Red Diamonds' victory last year. Before that Gamba Osaka had claimed the crown in 2008.

Persepolis, known for their mean defence, had no option but to attack on Saturday, but Kashima goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae put in a virtuoso performance.

Kwoun, for whom this was a third Asian crown following two with South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, was at the top of his game, keeping the Iranians, especially Ali Alipour and Bashar Resan, at bay.

Seven minutes before half-time Resan muscled his way past two defenders close to the Kashima goal, but failed to beat Kwoun at his near post.

Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic sent on Mohsen Rabiekhah and Ehsan Alvanzadeh in a desperate attempt to break the deadlock but to no avail.