Iran national anthem booed at World Cup opener amid protests in LA
Iran’s national anthem was met with boos at their World Cup opener against New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, after protesters vowed to unleash ‘hell’.
It was uncertain if Iran would even make it to the World Cup due to the conflict between the country and co-host’s America.
However, the Iranian team were issued US visas in an 11th hour decision, arriving at their training base in Tijuana, Mexico just days before the competition got underway.
At today’s match, the Iranian national anthem was greeted by audible boos within the stadium but just minutes earlier, there had been loud cheers when images of the team in the tunnel appeared on the giant screens above the pitch.
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The Iranian team also had strong vocal backing once the match kicked off.
In the run-up to Iran’s first game, FIFA won a case to ban flags with the pre-revolution ‘Lion and Sun’ emblem from being brought to the stadium earlier on Monday, but a quick glance around the crowd revealed that there were plenty still on display ahead of kick-off.
Prior to tonight’s game, it was reported that up to 35,000 protesters were planning demonstrations and they were planning to raise ‘hell’.
“We're going to make it hell tomorrow,” one protestor who had a ticket to tonight’s game told the Daily Mail.
“There are buses scheduled to leave from San Diego, Orange County, and different cities in LA to come to the stadium… we're going to have hell for them.”
The protestor added: “We're going to boo the anthem that is going to play. We're going to turn our backs during the anthem so we will have our flags showing.”
Speaking ahead of the match, Keyan Jafari, who wore a cape and headband bearing the ‘Lion and Sun’ despite it being officially banned by FIFA, told PA: “I support the Persian culture, our heritage and our history, and I’m not afraid to say that I don’t stand for the Islamic regime, and what they’ve done to the people in my country.
“It’s unprecedented, we haven’t seen anything as brutal as that in a long time. We thought for a long time, should we even be here today? This is the Islamic (regime) team still, but we don’t know what they put those players through.
“I want them to know that I still stand for them as long as they are Iranian and they stand with us.”
However not all fans agreed, and some suggested that politics should stay out of football.
Marian Rogers, who left Iran for Bedford as a teenager in 1977 before moving to the US, said: “Unfortunately there is some division among Iranians who feel this team is representing the government or supporting the government.
“I don’t believe that. I believe that this is just soccer, and I like to leave politics out of it.”
Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Iranian communities outside of Iran, and mainly consists of those who fled the country around the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, or their children.
Claire Reid