Iran, December 1: In a shocking incident reported from the city of Bandar Anzali in 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. 

Mehran Samak who was honking his car celebrating Iran's 1-0 loss to the US in the World Cup on Tuesday was shot dead, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR). Iran Players Refuse To Sing National Anthem Before FIFA World Cup 2022 Match Against England As Protest Against Clerical Regime at Home

According to India Today, Samak was honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast, north-west of Tehran, when he “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces following the defeat of the national team against America.” National Anthem’ Trends After Iran Men’s Football Team Refuses To Sing It During FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Match Against England As Protest Against Clerical Regime at Home

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also reported that he had been killed by the security forces while celebrating. There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Iranian authorities.

Earlier, many had refused to support the national team in response to a bloody government crackdown on more than two months of protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Iran's national football team had earlier chosen to refrain from singing their country's national anthem during their opening World Cup match against England to show their support for anti-hijab protesters back home but did so in two subsequent matches.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 01, 2022 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).