Notably, she appeared without Iran's mandatory headscarf.[7] The event occurred during the ongoing Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. On 18 October, two days after the competition, Rekabi was reported missing.[8][9] On the same day that she was reported missing, a post was made on her Instagram account which claimed that she would explain everything at a news conference and that she was traveling back to Iran alongside her fellow team members. The post also claimed that her headscarf fell off inadvertently, and she had competed without it, due to bad timing and an unanticipated call for her to compete.[10] BBC Persian reported that Rekabi's passport and mobile phone had been seized, and that her return flight from Seoul had been moved to depart a day earlier.[5] On 19 October, Rekabi received a "hero's welcome" on her return to Tehran.[11][12][13][14]