These are the most prominent victims of Iraqi club fans in the protests

Ali Nuri - Baghdad

Al-Zawraa and the Air Force in Iraq have remembered dozens of their supporters who have died as a result of the suppression of ongoing protests in the country since October 1.

Air Force fans held up banners at Al-Shaab International Stadium in the first round of the Iraqi League, in which they remembered the fans of the club who died in the demonstrations.

The same situation applies to Al-Zawraa Club, which also remembered the victims of its supporters, where the masses of the seagulls raised a banner saying, "Cheerleader Omar Saadoun ... will remain in our hearts, we will not forget you", and called him the title "martyr of freedom."

According to the statistics obtained by "Al-Jazeera Net" from the management of the two clubs, the number of victims of the air force fans reached more than 15 people, and the first of them was the fan known as (Globe) who was shot by a sniper near the nervous sentence hospital in Baghdad, and then the role came on the fan Hussein Darraji, who fell on the cliff of the Tigris River, as a result of a tear gas canister in the head, and Mustafa, who was shot by live ammunition in Jisr al-Jumhuriya. Hammoudi al-Lami also fell after he was transporting the wounded near the Tahrir Square tunnel.

Protests icon
As for Al-Zawraa Club, the number of victims of its supporters reached eight, the most famous of which is the "icon of protests". Safaa al-Saray, who was one of the most prominent fans of the white team, was wounded on October 28, 2019, in the middle of Tahrir Square, as security forces continued to fire gas canisters indiscriminately. On the scene, he was taken to the nervous system hospital, and the doctors performed an operation in which they removed the fragment of the gas bomb from his head and stopped the bleeding, but his condition remained critical and then he died from his wounds.

The Iraqi team guard and Al-Zawraa club, Jalal Hassan, visited the home of the young demonstrator Omar Saadoun, who was killed in the Nasiriyah events.

Hassan offered his condolences to the family of Omar Saadoun, and sat next to his mother, addressing her, "We are your children, we are Omar Saadoun," expressing her deep sorrow, and gifted her to the Iraqi national team and the Al-Zawraa club.

As for the Iraqi national team player, Alaa Abbas, whom the demonstrator Omar Saadoun called "the Apache", he lamented the deceased through his Instagram account, and gave his family his shirt with Al-Zawra Club and the Iraqi national team.

Honorary tournament
Al-Zawraa club intends to present a proposal to the Iraqi Football Association regarding the establishment of a four-way championship in which Al-Zawraa, the Air Force, the police and students will participate, the proceeds of which will be allocated to the families of the victims and injured sports fans who participated in the popular protests.

And this proposal received the support of the management of the Air Force Club, where the club's Vice President Walid Al-Zaidi said that his administration stands with the demonstrators and their legitimate rights, and that it has any idea to support the families of those who fell in the demonstrations.

Al-Zaidi added, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the Air Force Club lost many of its supporters in the protests, and there are many fans of the club who recounted their blood in the protests.

He pointed out that these demonstrators gave their lives for the cause of homeland, and their position is the height of courage, and history must remember them with great pride.

He emphasized that the Air Force Administration will provide material and moral support to the families of the victims who fell in the demonstrations of the club's fans, and will not spare them anything after their throats were sounding the love of hawks in the stands.

For his part, Al-Zawraa club member Abdel-Rahman Rashid said that the club lost many of its supporters in the demonstrations, and there are important names, most notably Safaa al-Saray, Omar Saadoun and others.

He added that the Al-Zawraa administration hung photos of its fans who had fallen into the demonstrations at the club's gate, and it is a matter of loyalty to its fans who were fans and supporters of the team.

He considered that the establishment of a four-way championship in which the mass clubs participate in the best way to support the families of the victims financially, because they will have media and public support, and this contributes to its success greatly.

While the head of the Al-Zawraa fan community, Amir al-Maliki, said that the protesters went out under all circumstances to obtain the demands owed to the Iraqi people.

He added, "We have never forgotten our colleagues, we raised banners for them in the stadiums, chanted their names, and gifted them with victory. We also worked on hanging murals in Al-Zawraa Club in remembrance of their sacrifices."

The President of Al-Zawraa Club appealed to the Iraqi government to grant compensation to the families of the victims of the demonstrations, including athletes and others, because they went out peacefully without carrying weapons or carrying out sabotage, and this is a duty of the government and not favorable to it.