The Iranian national anthem was booed by 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 match took place hours after President Donald Trump announced a preliminary US-Iran peace deal had been signed to end America’s’ war with Iran.
The team flew into the US on Sunday from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, touching down in Los Angeles just as a deal was announced to end the conflict.
Around 300 to 500 protesters gathered outside the stadium before the game, waving anti-Iranian government signs and flags. They said they did not want to attend the match as it would imply support for Tehran, as they protested against the country’s regime and its crackdown on pro-democracy protestors.
Inside, some fans then jeered Iran’s anthem as it was played ahead of their opening match.
Los Angeles is the biggest home to the Iranian community outside of Iran after many fled the country following the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
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.
That followed 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federation complained that not all their staff received US visas and that tickets allocated to supporters had been withdrawn.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 and is 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.”
