Many Iranians celebrated their country’s defeat in the Fifa World Cup against the US on November 30. The celebrations have left a lot of people perplexed. The reason behind the merrymaking dates back to September.
Iran has been rocked by protests since more than two months, after the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code. The people of Iran have refused to support the national football team, as they think the team represents the government.
A man has been also reported to have been killed in Iran by security forces in northern Iran.
Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast, north-west of Tehran.
According to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces … following the defeat of the national team against America.”
Videos shared on Twitter show Iranians dancing on the streets in a rare display of joy after the videos of burning tires and protesting crowds that have emerged from the country in recent months. But the dancing and celebratory honking was also a show of protest as they denounced the football team’s participation in the World Cup at such a tumultuous time.
