‘She supported us despite the politics made it illegal for her, but what we do can do to support her? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. We are cowards.’
That’s the passionate message from a Twitter TWTR, -2.67%[1] account named after Esteghlal, “the most decorated club in Iran.”
The tweet[2] was referring to Sahar Khodayari, a 29-year-old female Iranian soccer fan dubbed “Blue Girl,” who, according to the Guardian[3], died after setting herself on fire outside a courtroom. She was facing six months in prison for attempting to enter Tehran’s Azadi stadium and watch her favorite team.
Khodayari was apparently dressed up as a man, wearing a blue hairpiece and a long overcoat when the police apprehended her.
Before her death, FIFA had been urging Iran to change the rules and imposed a deadline this summer to lay out what steps were being taken to allow women to attend World Cup qualifiers, which will be held in the country next month.
“Whilst we are aware of the challenges and cultural sensitivities, we simply have to continue making progress here, not only because we owe it to women all over the world, but also because we have a responsibility to do so, under the most basic principles set out in the FIFA Statutes,” FIFA’s president wrote a letter obtained by the New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran.
Meanwhile, soccer players and many others from around the world voiced their outrage across social media in the wake of Khodayari’s death:
I have a platform and I have never been afraid of raising my voice when in need.This is a tragedy and it can’t continue anymore. @FIFAcom it’s time to act and not be silent.WE need to help the women of Iran fight against gender apartheid.This is about human rights!#SaharKhodayari https://t.co/UE4r071Niv[4][5][6]
— Kosovare Asllani (@KosovareAsllani) September 10, 2019[7]
The death of #BlueGirl must not be in vain. #Iran is the only country in the world that stops and punishes women for entering football stadiums. This ban must end immediately. https://t.co/z63u2DH3kq[8][9][10]
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) September 10, 2019[11]
Ban the iranian Federation right now!@FIFAcom#FifaStandUp4Sahar#BlueGirl[12][13][14]
— Hamid (@daneshgariy) September 10, 2019[15]
#ASRoma is yellow & red but today our heart bleeds blue for Sahar Khodayari. The beautiful game is meant to unite us, not divide us – that’s why we set up @ASRoma_Persian last year. Now it’s time for everyone in Iran to be allowed to enjoy football...