Judge upholds FIFA's ban on Iran's old flag at World Cup games after emergency hearing in Los Angeles

An exigency proceeding took spot regarding Iran's aged emblem being contiguous astatine World Cup games up of its tourney opener connected Monday successful Los Angeles.

A suit was filed connected Thursday by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and an Iran fan, arguing that hoisting the "lion and sun" flag, which represents the country's erstwhile authorities and changed successful 1980 pursuing the Islamic Revolution, is simply a signifier of state of speech.

FIFA banned the emblem up of the tournament, and Los Angeles Judge Curtis A. Kin upheld it.

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An authoritative talks with radical holding pre-revolutionary Iranian flags earlier the World Cup radical signifier lucifer betwixt Iran and New Zealand astatine SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood, California, connected June 15, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

"Free code is incredibly important, it is sacred, a bedrock of our society, but it is not without limitation, specified arsenic backstage actor, connected backstage property, and arsenic shown by erstwhile cases, regulating successful tenable way," Kin said, via The Athletic.

"There whitethorn beryllium harm to immoderate 2,500 unit members who person to woody with information protocols," helium added. "It is simply a tremendous load to alteration a long-standing stadium protocol for a monolithic lawsuit successful a play of hours. It is hard to spot however FIFA could marque a alteration astatine 1 stadium and not the rest."

After lawyer Shahrokh Mokhtarzadeh pushed backmost connected Kin's ruling, Kin past asked a hypothetical connected whether fans could "walk successful with a Nazi emblem oregon Confederate emblem oregon Soviet emblem oregon that of the KKK?" Mokhtarzadeh said helium believed specified a instrumentality should beryllium capable to.

An Iranian instrumentality displays a pre-revolutionary Iranian emblem up of the 2026 World Cup Group G lucifer betwixt Iran and New Zealand astatine Los Angeles Stadium successful Inglewood connected June 15, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

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FIFA has said that governmental materials are not permitted and ruled that the emblem is "political" successful nature. Some of the flags were inactive spotted wrong of SoFi Stadium.

Iran's beingness successful the World Cup has garnered immoderate contention surrounding the ongoing warfare successful the Middle East. After its crippled connected Monday, the squad was ordered to spell backmost to its signifier campy successful Mexico arsenic soon arsenic possible.

Iran played New Zealand to a 2-2 gully successful Los Angeles hours aft the proceeding — its adjacent crippled volition beryllium against Belgium connected Sunday successful Los Angeles earlier wrapping up radical play against Egypt connected June 26.

The crippled was played successful a crackling ambiance created successful portion by a conflicted, diasporic instrumentality basal that remains furious with the existent Iranian government, but is inactive mostly supportive of Team Melli.

Fans of Iran airs with a pre-revolutionary Iranian emblem joined with an Israel emblem during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G lucifer betwixt Iran and New Zealand astatine Los Angeles Stadium connected June 15, 2026. (Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)

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Yet the immense bulk of the assemblage vocally supported the Iranian players erstwhile the lucifer kicked off.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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