An Iranian woman died Monday (September 9th) after she set herself on fire in Tehran court a week ago. The 29-year-old was risking six months in prison for wanting to attend a football match, a hobby still banned for women in Iran.

It all starts on March 12, when 30-year-old Sahar Khodayari turns into a man to pass the doors of the Tehran stadium to see the match of his favorite team, the Esteghlal Tehran Football Club. Spotted by the authorities, she was arrested and then spent three days in prison before being released on bail. Last week, she went to court in Tehran to be tried. She would have heard someone say that she was incurring between six months and two years in prison, and would then have gone out to the building to set herself on fire.

The website of the Ministry of Justice, Mizan Online, said that no sentence had been pronounced and that there had not even been a trial. Since the announcement of his death, outrage has spread on social networks. Under the hashtag #BlueGirl, in reference to the color of the shirt of the Esteghlal Tehran Football Club, many Internet users and sports clubs have paid tribute to the young woman, and called on Iran to change its policy on this subject.

😥⚽️💔 #BlueGirl https://t.co/GTVsy8xMAS

FC Bayern Frauen (@FCBfrauen) September 10, 2019

Alimi Karimi, a former Iranian football star, has called on his 4.5 million subscribers on Instagram to boycott stadiums until further notice. "The women of our Earth are better than men," he writes in his photo caption.

See this post on Instagram

🖤💙زنان سرزمين ما, خيلى وقتها, خيلى مردن ... تا اطلاع ثانوى استاديوم🤵⛔️

A publication shared by Ali Karimi (@ aliiiiiiiikarimi8) on Sept. 10, 2019 at 12:36 pm PDT

For its part, the International Football Federation (FIFA) has increased its pressure on the country to allow women to attend qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup. Iran had until 31 August to to abide by these rules, on pain of consequences. The Sports Ministry said on August 25 that the supporters would be allowed to attend a qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia on Oct. 10.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, women have not been admitted to football stadia, with religious leaders arguing that they need to be protected from the "masculine atmosphere" and "half-naked men". And even though there is no law, the police actually prevent them from entering "for security reasons". During the 2018 World Cup, the ban was exceptionally lifted, notably in Tehran, where Iran's matches were broadcast live in the stadiums.

Sahar Khodayari was not the first Iranian to try to cross the gates of a stadium: in May 2016, Shakiba became the darling of the Persepolis team by attending a match of the team. She too had disguised herself as a man to pass the security present at the entrance.

The Iranian judiciary will investigate the death of Sahar Khodayari, at the request of Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, who sent a letter to the head of the judiciary, according to the official news agency Irna.