LOS ANGELES — Moments after Iran and Belgium battled to a scoreless draw at SoFi Stadium, the Belgian players beat a hasty retreat to the locker room.
Not the Iranian World Cup team.
The players on Team Melli lingered on the field, doing a slow lap to cheers from supporters who’d dominated the stands with chants of “Iran!” The Iranian players held their hands aloft and clapped for the spectators, some of whom waved Iran’s pre-revolution lion and sun flag, which is seen as a symbol of resistance against the Islamic Republic and is banned by FIFA.
One Iranian American fan, who gave his name as Majid, said he came from Seattle for the game. “The team, even though there is controversy … the team is here, they want to win … and we support them,” he said.
The scene made for a striking juxtaposition: Iranian players representing the Islamic Republic applauding a crowd in which some fans waved a flag symbolic of opposition to the very theocracy whose colors they wore.
Iran plays its final group stage match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26, during the city’s monthlong LGBTQ+ Pride celebration — a convergence that has drawn formal complaints from both Middle Eastern countries.