Iranian footballer Amir Reza Nasr Azadani has been sentenced to death after he was arrested last month for joining nationwide protests against the country's clerical establishment, human rights groups have said.
Mr Azadani was arrested in connection to the deaths of three security personnel during protests in Isfahan and accused of "waging war against God", according to Iran's ISNA news agency.
The 26-year-old Iranian league footballer is among at least 27 other Iranians facing death sentences in connection to the protests that have engulfed the country for almost three months.
Two of those men — Majidreza Rahnavard and Mohsen Shekari, both 23 years old — were publicly hanged this month.
The world union of professional footballers FIFPRO said it was "shocked and sickened" by Mr Azadani's sentencing "after campaigning for women's rights and basic freedom in his country".
"We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment," the organisation wrote on Twitter.
Prominent current and former footballers expressed solidarity and called for executions to end.
Former Iranian international star Ali Karimi and Iran's World Cup team goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand used their social media platforms to call for the sentence to be revoked and an end to executions.
Asadollah Jafari, the judiciary chief of Isfahan, was quoted by local media as saying that Mr Azadani was a member of an "armed group that operated in a networked and organised manner with the intent of fighting the basis of the Islamic Republic establishment".
Protests erupted following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by morality police for wearing her hijab, or headscarf, "improperly".
At least 490 protesters, including 68 children and 62 security personnel, have been killed in the months of unrest that have followed, according to the Human Rights Activists' News Agency (HRANA).
Another 18,200 people have been detained by authorities.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned more executions could be carried out soon.
“The trials of those who are facing capital charges related to protests have been a total travesty of justice,” said Tara Sepehri Far, HRW senior Iran researcher.
"The defendants are reportedly tortured into confessing, deprived of access to lawyers of their choosing, and rushed through trial proceedings that bypass safeguards in Iran's own penal code and criminal procedure law."