Iran players denounce treatment after tense World Cup draw in Los Angeles

Iran’s national team tried to focus on football overnight between Monday and Tuesday, and fought back twice to earn an entertaining 2-2 draw with New Zealand. But the match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood turned into a political flashpoint before kickoff, as fans booed and protested while the Iranian players stood shoulder to shoulder and sang the anthem under a massive Iranian flag draped across much of the pitch.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei sharply criticized the way his team was handled, saying Iran were allowed into the United States only 24 hours before kickoff and were expected to leave immediately after the final whistle. “We spent so much time on flights, they did not give us time to recover on the bus, they told us to leave immediately, and we were asked to board a plane to Tijuana right away, and we are very concerned about that,” he said. He added that Iran should have been allowed to stay and recover, describing his squad as “the most oppressed team in this tournament.” Ghalenoei also said key federation officials, the communications department, and the technical staff were absent, while his exhausted players still scored twice and drew energy from the crowd.

Forward Ramin Rezaeian also reacted to the tension after scoring in the first half. He initially covered his face with his shirt and said, “It is something political, I do not want to talk about it.” Later he said it was not a “political gesture” and declined to elaborate. On the boos during the anthem, he said, “The whole world now knows about my people. If there are issues between us, it is our business. It is not your business. I respect you, but this is something between us.”

Outside the stadium, small anti-regime protests took place. One demonstrator shouted through a megaphone that “the Islamic regime are terrorists” and that there can be no peace with terrorists. A woman identified as Rose told The Washington Post she planned to enter the stadium and boo “with all my strength,” saying the team represented the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and “this is not the Iranian national team.” She wanted to bring the pre-revolution “lion and sun” flag, which FIFA banned as political symbolism, and a Los Angeles court rejected a last-minute attempt to overturn that ban. Even so, many such flags were visible in the stands, while a large banner reading “42,000 #IranMassacre” was displayed during the match.