INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Demonstrators amassed Monday outside Iran’s first World Cup match, waving the pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flags banned inside the stadium and calling for change in Tehran.
Iran's participation in the World Cup, beset by challenges since the war's outbreak, has divided the U.S. diaspora, as the scene near Los Angeles showed. The national squad has become a Rorschach test of sorts, with rallygoers contending the team was synonymous
with Iran's government, while the fans who filed past said they were separating soccer from politics.
Southern California is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, many of whom arrived after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Just hours before kickoff against New Zealand, a Los Angeles judge upheld FIFA's ban on the pre-revolutionary flag at matches, The Athletic reported.
Ella Bah, 42, nevertheless was wearing the flag tied around her like a dress. She and other protesters had brought extra clothing to cover up before entering the stadium, and planned to reveal themselves after entering, she said.
“We’re not here to cheer them on,” she told The Associated Press. “We’re here to be the voice for the people inside Iran.”
Like Bah, some protesters said they had tickets to watch the game. Rameileh Jaffrey, 46, said she wants a change in Tehran’s government to bring freedom to the country she left a dozen years ago.
“They are not my team. They are a government team,” she said. Even so, she said she hopes Iran will win, and has plans to see the team play later in the tournament.
A woman protesting jeered Kia Keanh and his family as they walked by wearing T-shirts supporting the team.
“I’m just here to watch the sport, it’s not about the regime,” he said. “I’m just here for a World Cup game, to enjoy it with my family.”
Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with U.S. and Israeli forces. Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf.
After the war's outbreak, the team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's soccer officials were not granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government.
“We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live,” team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday. “We are here to bring joy to Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.”
Kourosh Safavi, 42, traveled to see Iran play from Dallas, Texas, with his 11-year-old son Jibreel. While he was born in the U.S, Safavi said he wanted to cheer on the country of his ancestors, where soccer means so much.
“They’re playing for the people, and I just hope and pray that they have success, that they can bring the people in Iran happiness,” he said.
Put off by sky-high prices, Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he would watch the game with his 96-year-old father in San Diego.
“I’m a football die-hard, and the boys, they’re representing all Persians, Iranians around the world,” said Garajedaghi, who left Iran when he was 10. “To me, it has nothing to do with whatever government they have in Iran.”
Some Iranian American soccer fans have said the team is tied up in politics, dissuading them from supporting the squad. But Safavi noted players are often put “between a rock and a hard place.” In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country’s leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for the World Cup squad this year, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called Azmoun an “excellent player” and said he wished he were with the team.
“I am just happy that they are coming to watch us and I hope that they will pray for us and I hope that they will encourage us,” Ghalenoei said Sunday when asked about the sizable diaspora. He added that he hoped the team would pay back that loyalty by playing a good game.
Still in their street clothes, many of the Iranian players walked onto the field nearly two hours before kickoff. Thousands of fans already in the building greeted them with loud cheers and whistles while the team examined the grass.
Some Iranian Americans are also upset about FIFA's rule barring political flags from being flown. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty filed a lawsuit last week to circumvent the ban on the pre-revolutionary flag, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday the ban could stand.
“There may be harm to some 2,500 staff members who have to deal with safety protocols,” Judge Curtis Kin said, according to The Athletic. “It is a tremendous burden to change a long-standing stadium protocol for a massive event in a period of hours. It is hard to see how FIFA could make a change at one stadium and not the rest.”
Parsa Ezati, 21, and his mother brought the official Iranian flag of the current government to the protest so that people could stomp on it. Many passersby took the opportunity to walk over it, some giving it an extra scuff or taking a minute to spit on it.
“It represents the ayatollahs that killed so many Iranians and have massacred people in my generation,” Ezati said. “FIFA only accepts this flag on the floor.”
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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
