Iran national anthem booed by sections of LA crowd at World Cup opener | OneFootball

Protesters had promised ‘hell’ in the build-up to the match

The Iranian national anthem was met with audible jeers from sections of the crowd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, marking a turbulent conclusion to the team's World Cup preparations. Their presence at the finals was unexpected, particularly given a bombing campaign initiated by co-hosts the United States and Israel in February. Despite a peace deal reportedly agreed on Sunday, the lead-up to their 2-2 draw against New Zealand underscored the complex and polarised opinions surrounding their involvement.

This vocal dissent contrasted sharply with the loud cheers that erupted moments earlier when images of the team appeared on the stadium's giant screens, and the squad received strong vocal backing once the match began. The significant Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles, largely composed of those who fled the 1979 Islamic revolution or their descendants, holds strong anti-regime sentiments. Although FIFA had successfully banned flags bearing the pre-revolution ‘Lion and Sun’ emblem from the stadium earlier on Monday, numerous such banners were still visible within the venue before 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.

Iran fans outside the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles ahead of their match against New Zealand. Picture date: Tuesday June 16, 2026.

PA

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.

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.”