INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Dozens of pre-revolutionary flags were brought into SoFi Stadium for Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand in defiance of FIFA’s ban.
In one particularly pointed moment, a group of fans on the far side of the ground held up theirs in direct response to the enormous flag of the current Iran government being unfurled on the pitch opposite New Zealand’s as part of matchday protocols.
Those supporters were left unchallenged by stewards, despite FIFA winning a court hearing enabling them to lawfully prohibit people showing the lion-and-sun flags on the grounds of them carrying a political message and potentially causing disturbances.
The legal case, decided at an emergency hearing in a Los Angeles courthouse on Monday morning, was brought by an Iranian fan who said FIFA’s block impinged freedom of speech, but the judge rejected that argument.
Before the opening of SoFi Stadium’s gates, a security official from the security contractor CSC told The Athletic that he had been instructed — and had, in turn, instructed all of his staffers — to not let fans enter with flags bearing any Iranian pre-revolution imagery. He pulled out his phone, scrolled up in a large WhatsApp group, and showed five images that were not permitted, including the flag with the lion and sun.
Iran kicked off its World Cup against New Zealand on Monday night. (Stu Forster / Getty Images)
When a group of six fans wearing white t-shirts with the pre-revolution flag emblazoned on the fronts tried to enter, they were stopped by a security staffer, who called over her supervisor. The supervisor told the fans they were not allowed in. After some discussions, the fans were asked to cover their shirts with jackets or take them off and turn them inside out. After doing so, they were allowed to enter.
One of those six fans, Mehdi, told The Athletic that they’d worn the shirts “because this is the true flag of my country.” A younger boy with him said: “It means freedom.”
Another fan, Aiden — who had traveled with his Iranian family from the U.S. east coast and declined to give his last name — said he had no trouble bringing in a pre-revolution flag.
“The flag that FIFA puts is not the flag that really represents the people,” Aiden said with the pre-revolution flag draped around his shoulders. “It’s really a symbol of oppression, and the killing of so many people from January, and honestly the past 47 years. We want to bring our symbol of freedom and expression.”
There were also many current Islamic Republic flags in the stadium. A majority of Iranian fans seemed to be cheering for Iran’s team. But there were also a smattering of fans with pre-revolutionary flags who booed the Iranian national anthem and erupted in celebration when New Zealand scored an early goal.
During the first half, in the front row behind one goal, seven or eight fans sitting consecutively held one banner each to spell out “MINAB168” — a reference to the killing of 168 children at an elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the U.S.-Iran military conflict, which the Iranian team also acknowledged by wearing “#168” pins as they arrived in Mexico ahead of the World Cup last week.
The banners were confiscated by stadium personnel just before halftime. Three of the fans — who identified themselves as Mohsen, Mehrdad and Amir, but declined to give their last names — later told The Athletic that stadium officials did not give them a reason for taking the banners.
As they spoke with The Athletic, another fan came down from an adjacent section, interrupted us, and accused them of getting paid to sit front row, support Iran and send the Minab message. “Shame on you, shame on you,” the fan, who was anti-regime, said.
Mohsen responded: “What? Absolutely not true!”
He later added: “We’re just cheering for the people of Iran, and for those kids who got killed — innocent! That’s it!”
(Reuters / Matthew Childs)
Mohsen said that the entire group of people lived here in the United States — some having been born here, some having immigrated from Iran — and three had PhDs. He identified himself as a professor. Mehrdad said he was a physician, and Amir said he was a mechanical engineer.
Amir was wearing a hat that read “MINAB 168.” He was not asked to take it off, nor were any of the group’s Islamic Republic flags confiscated.
Multiple fans, meanwhile, said they had seen pre-revolution flags confiscated by stadium personnel. It is unclear how many.
One level up and a few sections over, other fans held a homemade banner which read: “42,000 #IranMassacre” — a reference to civilians allegedly killed by Iranian authorities since the start of the year, per the Canada-based International Centre for Human Rights.
