Iranian soccer fan Sahar Khodayari (aka Blue Girl)


A young Iranian woman who was arrested for sneaking into a stadium to watch her favorite team (women are banned from sporting events in Iran) has died after she set herself on fire in front of the courthouse.


29-year-old Sahar Khodayari was arrested in March for dressing up as a man in order to sneak into Tehran's Azadi Stadium in order to watch a match featuring her favorite team, Esteghlal. Her nickname, "Blue Girl," stems from the team's colors and her donning a blue wig and overcoat as part of her disguise.


Photo of Sahar Khodayari


Khodayari spent three nights in jail before being released on bail to await her trial, set six for months later. Upon arriving at court for her trial date, she found it had been postponed again, but hung around the courtroom long enough to overhear that she could face a sentence ranging from six months to two years.


Fearing her sentence, Khodayari set fire to herself in front of the courthouse and died a week later in the hospital. Her death has caused an international uproar over Iran's draconian laws around women and sports.


Sahar Kohdayari in the hospital after burning herself in front of a court house


Although FIFA, the international body governing professional soccer, set an August 31 deadline for Iran to start allowing women into stadiums, the country has yet to take any official measures to guarantee compliance.


Twitter users were up in arms over her death, with commenters from all over the globe using the #BlueGirl to call for Iran to end this policy.


#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 matches together. RIP #BlueGirl

A young woman, known as the #BlueGirl, set herself on fire after getting a jail sentence for trying to enter the football stadium. Iranian women call on @FIFAcom to demand that the Islamic Republic end the ban on female attendance in stadiums. @FIFAWorldCup


Iran's #bluegirl has died after setting herself on fire. She was reportedly worried she'd get up to 2 years in prison. Her crime? Being a football fan. Boggles the mind that FIFA haven't banned Iran from all international competition over their medieval ban on women in stadiums



2-Our sister, #SaharKhodayari , also known as #bluegirl, set herself on fire recently in protest of her trial for trying to enter a soccer stadium dressed like a man. It's the only way women in Iran can watch soccer. She died yesterday for a right we take for granted.

@FIFAcom chiefs! If you do not immediately suspend the entire football of the Islamic Republic because of this great crime, you will be counted in the presence of humanity and history as a crime partner in these cases . #bluegirl #دختر_آبی #سحرخدایاری

Iran's #BlueGirl, who set herself on fire after she was arrested for trying to enter a football stadium, has died. Iran is the only country in the world that bans & punishes women for seeking to enter stadiums. We call for this discriminatory ban to end.


She set fire to captivity and chose freedom between death and prison. Rest in peace Sahar! Omar Momani, football's premier cartoonist #دختر_آبی #bluegirl