LOS ANGELES, June 15 (Reuters) – The Iran soccer team were preparing to play their first match at this year’s World Cup in Los Angeles on Monday, with protests expected by the city’s large Iranian diaspora against both the government in Tehran and the U.S. war.
The team arrived in the U.S. for the first time at this World Cup on Sunday, flying from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, and touching down in Los Angeles just as a deal was announced to end the U.S.-Iran war.
They are set to play New Zealand in Group G at 6 p.m. local time (0100 GMT).
Iran’s participation in the tournament has been beset by controversy against the backdrop of the war, which began in February when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
That followed nationwide protests in January inside Iran in which thousands were killed in a bloody government crackdown.
In recent weeks, the soccer team changed their base from Arizona to Mexico, while their federation complained that not all their staff received U.S. visas and that tickets allocated to supporters had been withdrawn.
In Los Angeles – home to the biggest Iranian community outside Iran, many of whom fled the country after the Islamic Revolution – Iranian American soccer fans say they have been left torn between excitement at seeing the team on the world’s biggest stage, anger at Tehran’s crackdown on protesters, and concern about Washington’s bombing campaign.
Some are planning to protest outside the stadium, while others have said they will watch the match on TV, uneasy over possible trouble at the stadium or that their attendance would imply support for Iran’s government.
“How can they go to cheer a team that comes with the flag of the Islamic Republic and national anthem?” said Koroush Krumarsi at a small protest held outside the team hotel on Sunday.
Others have indicated they will go to the match and try to smuggle in symbols of protest, including the pre-revolutionary Iran flag, which is the same colours as the current official flag but has a different lion-and-sun motif.
That sets up a potential clash with security and U.S. rights of freedom of speech and expression.
Iran has threatened to halt matches if unofficial flags are brought in or slogans chanted, while a California non-profit has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent any restrictions.
World soccer’s governing body FIFA says, when asked about the matter, that it prohibits flags or apparel of a political nature. But it has not commented specifically on what its approach will be to the Iranian pre-revolutionary flag.
(Reporting by Sandra Stojanovic and Jane Ross; Writing by Rosalba O’Brien, Editing by Ken Ferris)
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