‘Promising’ footballer shot useless days earlier than trial with one in every of world’s most profitable golf equipment
RThe club is one of world football’s most successful. Founded in 1953, and based in the historic city of Isfahan, they are famously known as the ‘Yellow Leopards’
Pedram Khalouei
A promising young footballer has been shot dead days before a trial at a huge club. Pedram Khalouei was killed aged just 15 by Iran’s security forces during recent nationwide protests.
He was in Isfahan, central Iran when it happened, local news outlets claim, as live ammunition rounds were fired into the crowd. Sadly, Pedram was killed in front of his father, with onlookers claiming he was shot in the heart.
It happened just days before he was set for trials to become a key part of Iranian club Sepahan’s youth team. The youngster was already signed to the club as part of the development set up, but was thought to be one of the top players of his age group.
Iranian officials have not yet commented on the incident, nor has his club.
Although not familiar to many outside of Iran, the club is one of world football’s most successful. Founded in 1953, and based in the historic city of Isfahan, they are famously known as the “Yellow Leopards”.
The club made history as the first club outside of Tehran to win the Persian Gulf Pro League, breaking the capital’s long-standing dominance. They are five-time league champions and consistent contenders in the AFC Champions League, notably reaching the final in 2007. Playing at the massive Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium, Sepahan is renowned for its passionate fanbase, elite youth academy, and disciplined tactical play.
Tributes were paid to the young footballer on social media as one said: “My heart breaks for his father. To watch your son be murdered. This is the reality of the Iranian regime. Pure evil.”
And the Iran Transition Council – publishing a name of 200 students who died in January, of which Pedram was one – said: “Two hundred lives were taken from us; by bullets, by poverty and by repression, along a single logic; the same logic that made education unsafe, turned the street into a shooting range and criminalized childhood.
“And they didn’t stop after their deaths: they banned names, conducted funerals silently and denied the truth. The deletion, denial and distortion were a continuation of the same policy that had taken lives before.
“We stand with the families, with the mothers and fathers who chose to seek justice out of grief, and with the students who are no longer just ‘students’ but are also the blood liberators of their friends.”
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