Iran anthem booed and banned flag flown defiantly as exiles pack LA stadium for Belgium clash

Iran’s national anthem was met with a wall of boos at Los Angeles Stadium ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup group-stage match against Belgium, with the hostility markedly more intense than the mixed reception the team received during their opening fixture against New Zealand earlier in the week.

For the second consecutive match, Iranian players stood with hands over their hearts as sections of the crowd jeered throughout the anthem. Where Monday’s response had been an uncertain blend of boos and cheers that eventually shifted toward encouragement, Sunday’s reaction left little ambiguity — the jeering was sustained, loud, and unrelenting from start to finish.

Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in the world, a direct consequence of the mass emigration that followed the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The composition of the crowd appeared to reflect that reality, with the atmosphere carrying what observers described as an unmistakable sense of fury directed at the Iranian state rather than the players themselves.

Also prominent throughout the stands was the Shir o Khorshid — the lion-and-sun flag used by Iran before the revolution. FIFA had ruled ahead of the tournament that the pre-revolution flag was too political to be permitted inside stadiums and banned it from all venues. Despite that directive, the flag was clearly visible among supporters, including a particularly large one displayed behind the goal where Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was positioned.

The Iranian national team had previously threatened to halt play if the flag appeared in the stands or if players were subjected to targeted chants during their fixtures. The players on the pitch appeared largely unfazed by the hostile reception as the match got under way.

The scenes in Los Angeles add a charged political dimension to Iran’s World Cup campaign, with the team navigating an atmosphere shaped as much by events far beyond the football pitch as by what unfolds on it.