Iran’s World Cup opener met with mixed reaction in Los Angeles – NBC Los Angeles
Watch parties and protests were planned for Monday in Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian American community outside of Iran, when the country’s national soccer team opens World Cup play in Inglewood in a collision of sports and world events.
A protest was held outside the Los Angeles Stadium, as it will be called during the global soccer tournament, hours ahead of Iran’s Group D match against New Zealand. Organizers said the rally was an effort to voice opposition to the Iran regime’s persecution of athletes ad political prisoners.
Rally participants wore lion-and-sun T-shirts and waved the country’s flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest of Tehran’s deadly January crackdown on dissent. A similar protest was held Sunday outside nearby Intuit Dome in what has become a complicated matter involving international sports and politics.
Some soccer fans outside the Los Angeles Stadium, site of five group stage games and three knockout round matches, said the opener for both teams on the world’s biggest soccer stage offered an opportunity.
“You would hope that soccer and sports brings unity,” Iran fan Dany Taheri told NBCLA. “It brings everyone together, people on both sides of the aisle inside Iran and outside Iran.”
In other parts of Los Angeles, people were gathering for watch parties.
A World Cup rule forced stadium sponsors to hide their branding, but one covered-up logo became an unexpected talking point after fans realized they could still recognize it instantly.
The game, like matches dating to the first World Cup in 1930, will be played in the shadow of politics and current events, including January’s brutal government repression of protests in Iran, the United States and Israel’s war in the region and word of a peace agreement announced over the weekend.
“I’m just really happy that they were able to come out and represent their county,” said fan Carlos Castillo. “There shouldn’t be politics involved. Unfortunately, that gets in the way sometimes, but I’m glad that they are here and representing.”
Another fan outside the stadium in southern Los Angeles County said he’ll be supporting both sides.
“I’m going, and I’m cheering for both teams because I’m from Ecuador, but soccer is soccer, and I just want to see some good football,” said John Rendon. “What’s it been like to witness so many people from all over the world coming together? It’s what soccer does. It brings everybody together. You see people from all over the world, and it’s just a happy event.”
World Cup debutant Cape Verde held Spain to a scoreless draw behind a seven-save performance from 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, earning one of the most memorable results of the tournament’s opening week.
By early Monday afternoon, more fans of Iran than New Zealand appeared to have arrived at the stadium, not an unexpected balance of support Southern California.
Iran returns to play June 21 at the Los Angeles Stadium against ninth-ranked Belgium, which drew Monday against Egypt.
The clash could go a long way in deciding Group G. Belgium, ranked ninth in the world, has been a consistent international powerhouse over the last decade, finishing an all-time best third at the 2018 World Cup. Transitioning from a squad of veteran stars to a newer generation, they’ll take on Iran, which has never advanced from the knockout round.
Athletes representing Iran, 20th in the world rankings and losers of just one game its 16-match qualifying run, have faced serious consequences for speaking out against the regime. 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.
The team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country’s key soccer officials had not been 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, through their love of soccer.
“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.”
Some Iranian Americans are also upset about FIFA’s rule barring political flags from being flown. They want to fly the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag, which is not the official flag of Iran. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty said it filed a lawsuit last week in California to challenge FIFA’s flag rule.
During Friday’s opening ceremony in Los Angeles, members of the mostly American crowd booed when Iran’s flag was brought onto the field.
On Sunday, protesters gathered near the stadium in Inglewood.