{"id":739567,"date":"2026-06-16T06:11:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/739567\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T06:11:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:11:11","slug":"fifa-world-cup-2026-news-iran-draws-new-zealand-result-fans-and-protests-over-flag-video-and-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/739567\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA World Cup 2026 news, Iran draws New Zealand, result, fans and protests over flag, video and photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several hundred Iranian Americans protested outside Iran<\/a>\u2019s first World Cup<\/a> match Tuesday, calling for change in Tehran and waving the pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flag, while thousands of fans poured into the stadium in the heart of the largest diaspora community to see the team play.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s participation in the World Cup has been beset by challenges since the war\u2019s outbreak, dividing the community in the United States. Fans cheered and booed loudly while Iran\u2019s national anthem was played at the game against New Zealand, which ended in a 2-2 draw.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fans turn their back on the pitch during the national anthem. \u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Some spectators held large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows just hours after a court upheld FIFA<\/a>\u2019s ban on the flags.<\/p>\n

Outside the stadium, demonstrators contended the team is synonymous with Tehran\u2019s government, while fans, their cheeks striped with red-and-green face paint, filed past, saying they were separating football from politics. At one point, protesters snatched an official Iran flag from a fan and stomped on it and ripped it.<\/p>\n

Southern California is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, many who arrived after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n

Rameileh Jaffrey, 46, of Los Angeles, left Iran a dozen years ago and said she feels the team\u2019s players are aligned with the current government in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not my team. They are a government team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When football and geopolitics collide<\/p>\n

Event security broke up shouting matches between protesters and fans before and after the match, and were joined by sheriff\u2019s deputies shortly before kick off. A woman protesting jeered Kia Keanh and his family as they walked by wearing T-shirts supporting the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just here to watch the sport, it\u2019s not about the regime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just here for a World Cup game, to enjoy it with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the demonstrators also went inside the stadium to see the team play, like 42-year-old Ella Bah, who brought extra clothing to conceal the lion-and-sun flag she wore tied around her like a dress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here to cheer them on,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to be the voice for the people inside Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country\u2019s war with US and Israeli forces.<\/p>\n

On Monday, president Donald Trump announced that the US had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

After the war\u2019s outbreak, the team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country\u2019s football 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

People protest outside Los Angeles Stadium before the World Cup Group G soccer match.\u00a0AP Photo\/Ty ONeil<\/p>\n

A wide range of views<\/p>\n

Kourosh Safavi, 42, travelled to see Iran play from Dallas, Texas, with his 11-year-old son Jibreel. While he was born in the US, Safavi said he wanted to cheer on the country of his ancestors, where football means so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re playing for the people, and I just hope and pray that they have success, that they can bring the people in Iran happiness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still in their street clothes, many of the Iranian players walked onto the field nearly two hours before kick off. Thousands of fans already in the building greeted them with loud cheers and whistles.<\/p>\n

Some fans said the large Iranian American crowd in Los Angeles made it feel like Iran had the support of a home team. New Zealand fans were also in attendance, and other spectators wore jerseys from countries spanning from Mexico to Croatia.<\/p>\n

Some Iranian American football fans said they don\u2019t support the squad because they believe it is tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out.<\/p>\n

In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country\u2019s leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn\u2019t selected for this year\u2019s World Cup squad, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.<\/p>\n

The flag question<\/p>\n

The controversy also has been playing out in a push by Iranian Americans to be allowed to carry the lion-and-sun flag at World Cup games. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fans of IR Iran hold up the nation’s flag.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty filed a lawsuit last week to try to circumvent FIFA\u2019s ban on the pre-revolutionary flag at matches.<\/p>\n

Despite a judge upholding the ban, fans held up large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows of the stadium during Monday\u2019s game. Others carried the official flag of Iran.<\/p>\n

Parsa Ezati, 21, and his mother brought the official Iranian flag to the protest outside the stadium so 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt represents the ayatollahs that killed so many Iranians and have massacred people in my generation,\u201d Ezati said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA only accepts this flag on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Several hundred Iranian Americans protested outside Iran\u2019s first World Cup match Tuesday, calling for change in Tehran and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-739567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}