In a violent incident in the city of Bandar-e Anzalia, Iran, a 27-year-old Iranian man was shot in the head by the authorities for celebrating national football team's elimination from the FIFA World Cup following a 1-0 loss to USA on November 30.
Citing human rights groups, The Guardian reported that Mehran Samak was honking his horn in celebration of Iran's defeat to the USA on Tuesday.
Many Iranians refused to support their football team in Qatar, seeing it as a representation of the Islamic Republic.
Caught between the clerical regime and calls to show solidarity with protesters, the national team pressed near-relentlessly in the second half on Tuesday night but were unable to cancel out a 38th-minute opener by the US, resulting in an early exit.
That prompted the extraordinary spectacle of Iranians cheering a defeat inflicted by Iran’s arch-enemy, often labeled the “Great Satan.”
The contest between the two countries which severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago took place against a backdrop of violent repression in Iran after protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in September.
Iran’s security forces have killed at least 448 people in the crackdown on the protests, including 60 children under the age of 18 and 29 women, according to IHR.
In an extraordinary twist, Iranian international midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, who played in the US match and is from Bandar Anzali, revealed that he knew Samak and posted a picture of them together in a youth football team.
“After last night’s bitter loss, the news of your passing set fire to my heart,” said Ezatolahi on Instagram, describing Samak as a “childhood teammate”.
There was also a confrontation between opponents and supporters of the government outside the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar after Tuesday's match.
Danish journalist Rasmus Tantholdt filmed several men carrying Iranian flags shoving a man wearing a T-shirt saying "Woman, life, freedom" in English. A woman with him is then heard complaining that she was attacked and asking for help to leave the stadium safely.
