‘Blue Girl’: Tragic death of female football fan in Iran
Female football fan died after self-immolation on trying to enter football stadium in Iran to watch her team play the match.
Iranian female football fan, Sara Khodayari, was detained for dressing as a man to sneak into the football stadium to watch the game between her favorite football team, Esteghlal of Iran, and Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates, during the AFC Asian Cup.
She was stopped form entering the stadium by the security as she was discovered. As a result, she was arrested and was charged with ‘openly committing a sinful act by appearing in public without a hijab’ and ‘insulting officials’.
A bailed was placed later that day for this female football fan, Khodayari. Since, the incident happened over the weekend. She had to stay three nights in the prison before her bail was posted. Her family said, the whole experience worsened her mental health as she had history of combating bipolar disorder and had attempted suicide before.
She was summoned to the court and after learning that she could face two-years sentence for attempting to enter the stadium. This female football fan self-immolated in front of the courthouse. She was rushed to the hospital with severe burns on almost 90% of her body and damaged lungs. She was confirmed dead after few days.
The death of this football female fan, Sara Khordayari, sparked and opposition in Iran. Khodayari was labelled as ‘Blue Girl’ on twitter by Iranians because of the color of her jersey. An Iranian Twitter user wrote: “Why can a 9-year-old girl get married but a girl in her 20s can’t go to the stadium?”
FIFA is continuously slammed on social media for complacency. Whereas, the tragic story of this Iranian female football fan has received attention from all over the world by politician, celebrities, and footballers.
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