Security forces shot dead an Iranian man after Iran’s national team lost to the USA (1:0) and was kicked out of the World Cup, and anti-government demonstrations from Qatar and Iran took place inside and outside the stadium, The Guardian writes. Guardian.

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Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his horn in Bandar Anzal, a town on the Caspian Sea coast northwest of Tehran, according to human rights activists.

Samak “was directly targeted and shot in the head by security forces… following the national team’s loss to America,” the Oslo-based human rights group (IHR) said.

The match between the two countries, which severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, comes amid Iran’s brutal crackdown on protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in September.

According to the IHR, Iranian security forces killed at least 448 people during the crackdown on protests, including 60 children under 18 and 29 women.

Iran international midfielder Saeed Ezatolahi, who played in the match against the USA and hails from Bandar Anzali, said he knew Samak and posted a photo with him on a youth soccer team, News.ro reported.

“After the bitter loss of last night, the news of your death has set my heart on fire. One day the masks will fall, the truth will be revealed.

This is not what our youth deserve. This is not what our nation deserves,” Ezatolahi wrote on Instagram, describing Samak as “a childhood teammate.”

Ezatolahi, upset by the result, was seen after the final whistle as he was consoled by both his teammates and the American players.