TUNIS: Tunisian football player Nizar Issaoui, 35, has died from burns suffered after setting himself alight earlier this week as a protest against “police injustice”, his family said on Friday.

Issaoui, a former player for top-flight side US Monastir and a father of four, published a video on Facebook in which he said the reason for his protest was being falsely accused of terrorism in Haffouz, Kairouan, central Tunisia.

The striker, who was a free agent and playing in the amateur leagues before his death, suffered third-degree burns and doctors weren’t able to save his life, his brother Ryad told reporters.

Local media said that Issaoui decided to make his extreme protest outside a police station after officers accused him of “terrorism” when he complained about the price of bananas.

A video selfie circulating on social media shows Issaoui screaming: “For a dispute with someone selling bananas at 10 dinars, I get accused of terrorism at the police station. Terro­rism for a complaint about bananas.”

Huge protests from the player’s family have followed, and a large number of citizens gathered in front of the police station where the incident took place.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023