Iran rallied for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 Monday night at Los Angeles Stadium, but the team still “left frustrated by their fate on and off the field.” Following the match, FIFA officials “told reporters the Iranian team would only answer soccer questions,” but Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei “vented about more than the tie.” Speaking via a FIFA interpreter, he said, “I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.” Ghalenoei added the team “would immediately be flying back to Tijuana,” saying, “They said we have to leave immediately.” Ghalenoei: “We were supposed to stay until tomorrow lunchtime to recover.” Despite the challenges, Iran was backed by “a largely supportive crowd” (L.A. TIMES, 6/15). FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended the match, “went into the dressing room to speak to the team.” Asked what Infantino said in the dressing room, Iran F Mehdi Taremi said, “He just wants to help us. He said it’s the beginning of the World Cup now, and he will help us” (London TIMES, 6/16).
Hundreds of anti-regime protesters -- “mainly supporters of the former Shah -- gathered close to the stadium hours before the game to oppose the regime, and, in some cases, the team, too.” Inside the stadium, Iran was “missing a significant number of supporters.” FIFA recently withdrew about 1,000 tickets issued to the Iran federation after the U.S. Treasury Department “raised concerns that the sales would violate longstanding sanctions on doing business with Iran.” Still, Iran supporters “heavily outnumbered those of their opponents” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/16). The pregame atmosphere at Los Angeles Stadium was “considerably more tense than it was for the Americans’ opener Friday.” The police and security presence “was far more visible, too,” though there “didn’t appear to be many problems that escalated beyond verbal sparring” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/15).
Iran had “threatened to halt matches if unofficial flags were brought in or slogans chanted.” But “numerous people carrying the lion-and-sun flag or wearing t-shirts with the symbol passed through security at the stadium without any issue” and the game “proceeded as planned” (REUTERS, 6/15).
In this World Cup’s “great convergence of 48 nations, one is conspicuously not receiving the same treatment as the other 47.” And however much Infantino “might try to posture as the ultimate peacemaker, he must surely see that the longer this problem persists, the graver the implications will be for his tournament’s integrity” (London TELEGRAPH, 6/16).
