Iran national anthem booed by sections of Los Angeles crowd at World Cup opener
Iran flew to LA from Tijuana, Mexico, where they are staying amid an ongoing row over visas.
Iran’s national anthem was jeered by some sections of the crowd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles as the team faced New Zealand in their first match.
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Iran's participation was thrown into doubt in recent weeks and months after the co-hosts, the United States, alongside Israel, began a bombing campaign in February.
While a peace deal may have finally been agreed on Sunday, the build-up to the 2-2 draw with New Zealand only served to highlight the complexities and polarised views around the team’s participation.
The anthem was met with audible boos in the stadium, but minutes earlier, there had been loud cheers when images of the team in the tunnel appeared on the giant screens above the pitch, and the team also had strong vocal backing once the match kicked off.
The Iranian community in Los Angeles is primarily comprised of those who fled the country around the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, or the children of those who did, and as such, anti-regime sentiment is strong.
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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 plenty were in evidence within the venue in the lead-up to kick-off.
Protesters had promised “hell” in the build-up to the match, and while some aggressive anti-regime slogans were chanted around SoFi Stadium, describing the leaders in Tehran as “terrorists”, many attending the match were keen to separate the team from the state they represent.
Keyan Jafari, who wore a cape and headband bearing the ‘Lion and Sun’, said before the match: “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.”
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.”
Iran made a brighter start but fell behind in the seventh minute after Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood held the ball up well and combined with Eli Just, and the Motherwell man steered a volley past Alireza Behranvand in the Iran goal.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi struck the post after a long run from his own half, and the equaliser came in the 32nd minute as New Zealand defender Finn Surman denied Shahriyar Moghanloo a strike. But the ball rolled on to right-back Rezaeian, who hit the ball in after continuing a forward run in the hope of a give-and-go.
Just scored his and New Zealand’s second goal 10 minutes into the second half, but Iran were level again when Rezaeian swung in a cross from the right, and Mohebbi guided a header in off the foot of the post.
Both sides had half-chances to win it, but the game ended level.