Mehran Samak, 27, an Iranian, was shot dead Wednesday for honking his horn during protests in the city of Bandar Anzali. He wanted to support the protesters, who celebrated the defeat of the national team at the World Cup on Tuesday.

Oslo-based Iranian Human Rights (IHR) said that Samak was “directly targeted and shot in the head by the security forces after the national team’s defeat against America”.

The World Cup takes place against the backdrop of severe pressure in Iran. A response to the mass protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by the morality police in Tehran in September for allegedly violating strict rules mandating women to cover their hair with headscarves. She later died in custody, she. According to the IHR, the Iranian regime killed at least 448 people, including 60 children, while suppressing these protests. More than 18,000 protesters were arrested.

This is why many Iranians refused to support their football team in the championship in Qatar. They see him as a representative of the violent Islamic Republic. The players of the Iranian team did not sing the national anthem in solidarity with the protesters before their first match, where they lost 6-2 to England.

For this reason, they came under intense pressure from the Iranian authorities. According to CNN, the Iranian regime threatened the actors’ families with “imprisonment and torture” if they “did not act”.

Coincidentally, Samak was a childhood friend of Iranian midfielder Saeed Ezatolahio. The latter revealed that he knew Samak and shared a photo of them on Instagram together on a youth football team.

“After yesterday’s painful loss, the news of your death lit a flame in me,” Ezatolahi wrote on Instagram. He did not comment on his friend’s death, but said: “One day the masks will fall and the truth will come out. Our youth do not deserve this. Our nation does not deserve this.’

Meanwhile, Iranian state media praised the national football team. This despite failing to qualify for the qualifying stages of the World Cup. The conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan said Iranians were “proud of Iran”. In contrast, the Daily Javan said the team “won the real game: the game of connecting people’s hearts.”

But in reality there was a protest. In Tehran, Imam Sadik University students gathered in front of a dormitory and chanted “Death to bandits”, a label used by protesters against security forces. This was also shouted by fans in the stadium during Iran’s match against England.

While the defeat in Qatar was celebrated with dance in Sanandaj, the epicenter of the turmoil, demonstrators in Kermanshah and Merivan chanted “Women, life, freedom”, one of the main slogans of the protests.

The Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reported that at least 30 people were shot and injured by security forces during celebrations in Marivan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Saqez, Ilam and Bukan.

Exiled Iranian journalist Masíh Alínezádová posted videos of the celebrations on Twitter, writing: “Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now on the streets of Sanandaj they celebrate their football team’s defeat to the USA.” He also shared a video of the fireworks exploding in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown.

After the match on Tuesday, a clash took place between the supporters of the government and the opposition in front of the Al Thumama stadium in Qatar. Journalist Rasmus Tantholdt was filmed Several men with Iranian flags push a man wearing a T-shirt with the English translation of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest slogan. “(Iranians) are not safe here. Qatari police are just watching,” he tweeted.

Another video obtained by BBC Persian shows a protester being violently arrested by security outside the stadium. While doing this, he shouted “Woman, Life, Freedom”. When asked about the treatment of Iranian fans who protested in Qatar, world football’s governing body FIFA said it continues to “work closely with the host country to ensure the full implementation of relevant regulations and agreed protocols”.