In Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Iranian diasporas outside Iran, around 200 people gathered outside the stadium on June 15, the day of Iran’s opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Iran faced New Zealand in Inglewood, California, in its Group G opener. The protest reflected discontent with Tehran’s policies and alienation from the national team, which many participants called “not their own.” Iran’s next scheduled U.S. match was against Belgium on June 21 in the Los Angeles area.
Protesters carried flags depicting the lion and sun, Iran’s national emblem before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Many opponents of the Islamic Republic now associate the design with the former monarchy and an alternative political order. FIFA’s stadium code of conduct bars flags “of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature.” A Los Angeles court confirmed the ban on bringing the pre-revolutionary flag into the stadium on match day. A California nonprofit had filed a lawsuit challenging the restrictions on freedom-of-expression grounds. The dispute had precedent: security personnel reportedly denied entry to fans carrying the same flag at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Despite the ban, some of the symbols appeared in the stands, drawing mixed reactions. Some spectators applauded, while others booed the players.
Many participants, including residents of Orange County, showed their contempt for the official Iranian flag by trampling it at the stadium entrance. They called for a return to the previous government instead of backing the national team, and urged the United States, especially President Donald Trump, not to negotiate with Iran’s current leadership. Some held posters bearing photographs of deceased compatriots and chanted slogans calling for democracy and change.
For many Iranians in the United States, football had become a pretext for protest, one participant said. They did not consider the current national team their own and saw true heroes among imprisoned and fallen opposition members. Old anthems played in the fan zone, while MIGA, “Make Iran Great Again,” appeared on headgear. The lion-and-sun flag remains contested among Iranians: it is a historical national emblem and a contemporary symbol of opposition to the Islamic Republic.
Some protesters, local media reported, had no tickets and did not plan to watch the game. Half an hour before kickoff, most moved to the stadium perimeter to continue the demonstration. Iran’s delegation had based its training operations in Tijuana, Mexico, despite playing its tournament matches in the United States. The team traveled from its Mexican base to Los Angeles ahead of the opener, adding cross-border logistics to the backdrop of the match-day demonstrations.
The delegation’s participation also unfolded amid heightened U.S.-Iran security concerns. Secretary of State Estructura Rubio told lawmakers that the United States would not allow people with links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to infiltrate the World Cup delegation. Iran had named a 26-player squad. Its Tijuana base put the team near the U.S. border, while its tournament fixtures were scheduled in American cities.
Some participants expressed mixed feelings. They opposed the current team but acknowledged that football remains an impressive part of national identity. Some said even a victory would bring no joy as long as the situation in Iran remained unchanged.
Los Angeles has long been a center of Iranian emigration, and parts of the city are often called “Tehrangeles.” Rallies and debates over national symbols reflect divisions within the diaspora, along with its response to events in Iran. The role of national identity was also discussed at the archival document exhibition in Alicante, for example (more on the diaspora's cultural initiatives).
FIFA’s venue rules make the treatment of politically charged flags a matter of stadium access and freedom of expression. The dispute over the lion-and-sun flag and the nonprofit’s legal challenge, alongside the demonstration outside the stadium, placed Iran’s opening fixture in a wider debate over national identity and opposition politics. Los Angeles hosted the match and is scheduled to stage other 2026 World Cup fixtures. The city remains a basic setting for Iranian diaspora activism and discussion about Iran’s future.
