INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Iranian Americans are torn over as some community members plan to watch Monday’s match and others plan to protest outside the stadium where the team will play.
A rally is planned for outside the stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. Many of Southern California鈥檚 Iranian Americans arrived after the Islamic Revolution, and a hub of eateries, shops and markets about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the stadium is
Rally participants plan to wear lion-and-sun T-shirts and wave the country’s flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest of Tehran鈥檚 on dissent.
Ali Javahery, a 59-year-old consultant who was born in Iran and lives in California’s Orange County, said he will be outside protesting Iran’s opening match against New Zealand, not inside watching it. He said soccer and politics are intertwined, and though he loves the sport, he says the national team’s players are under pressure to adhere to the Iranian government’s positions.
鈥淭his is not 鈥楾eam Melli,鈥欌�� as the national team is known in Persian, Javahery said. 鈥淭his is Team Islamic Republic.鈥�
Iran’s participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country’s war with U.S. and Israeli forces. The team to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country’s had not been granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government, through their love of soccer.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday. 鈥淲e are here to bring joy to Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.鈥�
Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he will watch the game with his 96-year-old father in San Diego. He said he didn鈥檛 buy tickets for the game, partly because of the sky-high pricing. But he said he supports the team, politics aside, while respecting the wide range of views shared by Iranians in the diaspora.
鈥淚鈥檓 a football die-hard, and the boys, they鈥檙e representing all Persians, Iranians around the world,鈥� said Garajedaghi, who left Iran when he was 10 years old. 鈥淭o me, it has nothing to do with whatever government they have in Iran.鈥�
Watch parties are planned to cheer on the team in Southern California, and when Iran was assigned last year to play in LA, many bought tickets. But in recent months some said they have sold off their tickets in anger, following January’s brutal repression.
Some Iranian American soccer fans have also said the team is currently tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was against the country鈥檚 leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn鈥檛 selected for the World Cup squad this year, reportedly because of a social media post that .
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called Azmoun an 鈥渆xcellent player鈥� and said he wished he were with the team.
鈥淚 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,鈥� 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.
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鈥檚 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.
Late Sunday, that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. Details of the deal, expected to be signed Friday, weren’t available.
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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.
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