The yellow card was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness; what's a protest without sacrifice? Their armbands were a hollow gesture and a demonstration that they aren't prepared to go beyond lip service - that's how they've ended up there in the first place - any one of them could have withdrawn from the squad on principle.
The Iranians may face a lot harsher rebuke than a yellow card, so your comment is a bit misplaced, IMO.
Yes but just like Joe not targeting the squad (public blowback) or the BBC (his employer) there's priorities, hence he went with Beckham.
No one wants the kind of penalties they can't endure.
Getting carded falls into the public blowback area, many won't care about the protest but they will get extremely ****** that you sabotaged the national team.
And finally, the whole team seemed to be very much on board with that protest. I did not hear the same was true for the teams who dropped the armband protesting. How are you meant to play with your teammates if they're not on board with you risking the performance of the team by kneecapping yourself.