The Iranian national anthem was met with jeers from some spectators inside the SoFI Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday evening as Iran began their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Group G. The booing came hours after President Donald Trump announced a preliminary US-Iran peace deal had been signed to end America’s war with Iran.
Outside the stadium, between 300 and 500 protesters gathered before the match, waving anti-Iranian government signs and flags. They said they did not want to attend as it would imply support for Tehran, protesting against the country’s regime and its crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. Los Angeles is the biggest home to the Iranian community outside of Iran after many fled following the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
“Iran's World Cup anthem jeered inside LA stadium as protesters outside decry regime.”
The team flew into the US on Sunday from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, touching down in Los Angeles just as the deal was announced. Iran’s participation in the tournament has been beset by controversy against the backdrop of the war, which began in February when the US and Israel launched strikes on the country, following nationwide protests in January inside Iran in which thousands were killed in a bloody government crackdown.
In recent weeks, the football team changed their base from Arizona to Mexico, while their federation complained that not all their staff received US visas and that tickets allocated to supporters had been withdrawn. A US administration official explained: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences.”
Fifa’s ban on the pre-revolutionary Iran flag was upheld on Monday morning after an expedited hearing. The flag has the same colours as the current official flag but has a different lion-and-sun motif, historically associated with the country’s previous Shah-led regime. Fifa prohibits flags or apparel that have “political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature”. Judge Curtis Kin ruled that the ban should be allowed to stand, stating: “Free speech is incredibly important, it is sacred, a bedrock of our society, but it is not without limitation, such as private actor, on private property, and as shown by previous cases, regulating in reasonable way. I deny the application.”
Inside the stadium, Iran fell behind early but equalised through Mohammad Mohebi’s header before New Zealand’s Elijah Just scored a brace to put his side 2-1 up. The match continues as fans ignore the flag ban, with some having had flags confiscated earlier. The peace deal may have ended the war, but the divisions among the Iranian diaspora remain on full display.