World Cup
World Cup 2026
LIVE
2m ago
The Athletic witnessed more than one pre-revolutionary Iranian flag being unfurled during the World Cup match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif. Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
World Cup fans at Levi’s Stadium managed to bring in pre-revolutionary Iran flags, despite FIFA banning their presence at the tournament.
During the first half of Saturday’s game between Qatar and Switzerland, The Athletic witnessed supporters unfurling multiple pre-revolutionary Iran flags — the country’s official flag until the revolution of 1979.
Advertisement
Both flags have green, white and red bands (in descending order), but where the newer flag has an Islamic symbol in the centre, the pre-revolutionary flag has a yellow lion and sun. The newer flag also contains Arabic lettering at the top and bottom of the red and green bands respectively, with the new flag representing Iran’s shift from a monarchy to a theocracy post-revolution.
The pre-revolutionary flag has been used as a form of protest against the current regime by some in the Iranian diaspora. It was seen at the 2022 men’s World Cup and 2024 Asian Cup in Qatar, as well as at pro-Iranian protests around the world since the United States-Israel war with Iran began in February.
However, at the World Cup in Qatar, some fans were not permitted to bring the pre-revolutionary flag into stadiums. The Athletic reported last month that FIFA again planned to ban the flag for this year’s tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. When asked at the time if this was the case, FIFA responded by sending its list of prohibited items from its stadium code of conduct.
That reads: “Any materials, including but not limited to banners, flags, fliers, apparel and other paraphernalia, that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature, containing wording, symbols or any other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group on account of race, skin colour, ethnicity, national or social origin, gender identity and expression, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, birth, wealth or any other status, sexual orientation or on any other grounds.”
The Athletic has approached FIFA and the host city committee in the Bay Area, where Levi’s Stadium is located, for comment on how pre-revolutionary Iran flags made it into the stadium.
Iran’s place at the World Cup had been questioned since the war began in February, but its travelling party arrived in the Mexican border town of Tijuana last week, having previously been slated to be based in Arizona during the tournament.
Advertisement
Iran has a large diaspora on the west coast of the United States and their arrival in Tijuana, which is 22 miles south of San Diego, was greeted by a small group of fans. The team plays its first two World Cup group-stage matches at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area, with the third coming at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filed against FIFA in California over the body’s ban on supporters bringing the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag into World Cup stadiums. The Institute for Voices of Liberty, a Californian non-profit which describes itself as “dedicated to advancing freedom of expression” for Iranians, claimed in the filing that those who wished to fly the flag possess “protected symbolic and political speech.”
As The Athletic previously reported, the presumption is that the pre-revolutionary flag is seen as “political” in nature. A source inside FIFA with direct knowledge of its position previously told The Athletic that this is the case.
Ahead of the World Cup, the Iranian Football Federation issued FIFA with a list of demands in order to ensure its attendance at the World Cup, which included “respect for the Iranian flag.”
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle
Leave a Reply