up, Iran finally plays amid mixed feelings from diaspora

Los Angeles has many monikers. The City of Angels, Tinseltown, La La Land.

Perhaps one of the lesser known nicknames is "Tehrangeles" in a nod to the city's massive Iranian population, the largest outside of Iran.

And many of them filled Los Angeles Stadium for Team Melli's opening World Cup game, a 2-2 draw with New Zealand.

There was always going to be immense interest in this game. For the football, yes, but more so for the politically charged environment surrounding Iran's participation in the tournament, considering it was at war with the host country.

In the lead up the Iranian Football Federation threatened to withdraw from the tournament, many team officials were denied US visas, and the team relocated its base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico.

Just 24 hours before kick-off a tentative ceasefire was announced to end the war between the US and Iran after three months of fighting.

As much as FIFA says it wants to keep politics out of football it has been unavoidable on many levels leading into, and during, this World Cup so far.

For the massive Iranian American diaspora it has surfaced conflicting emotions as they grapple with supporting the players without endorsing the Islamic Republic regime.

Protests outside stadium

Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, an expert in Iran and the Middle East from Arizona State University's School of Politics and Global Studies, attended the match and says the talk of widespread protests against the regime before the game was largely anti-climactic.

"The vast majority were cheering on Iran, and I would say not all of them were Iranian. There was a diverse crowd in the stadium," he said.

"I think football won this battle. It was a good game, people were enjoying themselves."

But he also acknowledged that not all members of the Iranian diaspora can necessarily separate the players from the regime.

"For the people of Iran itself this is a momentous occasion to once again participate in a global event which has a huge global audience," he told ABC Sport.

"Arguably, after Islam, [it] is the second largest religion in Iran, football.

"But obviously on the other side of the coin the Iranian diaspora, particularly here in California, have very, very different sentiments.

"The recent protests that took place in Iran are still fresh in the minds of these people and they see the Iranian team that will be playing here as an extension of the Islamic Republic. So there are mixed feelings about their participation."

A few hundred protesters gathered outside the stadium before the match.

Inside the stadium, some fans were seen waving the Lion and Sun flag which was used before the 1979 Islamic Republic revolution, a protest symbol against the regime.

That is despite FIFA's ban on political signs and slogans.

Many others sported the country's official flag.

"We're not here to cheer them on," protester Ella Bah told The Associated Press.

"We're here to be the voice for the people inside Iran."

Another protester Hamid Parvizi told AFP it was not an easy situation for the players.

"I'd like to support them, but when you're talking about Iran, it's impossible to separate sports and politics," he said.

Fan Mehdi Jafari told Reuters he wanted to focus on football.

"We're very proud of our country. We're here to support Iran. I think we should all let go of the politics and just go in and cheer on Team Melli," he said.

Singing the anthem

There was much focus on how the team would be received inside the stadium, especially for the national anthem.

The Iranian women's team became the centre of worldwide attention at the Women's Asian Cup in Australia earlier this year when they did not sing the anthem before the first match.

It was interpreted by many as an act of resistance against the regime, and they subsequently saluted and sang in the following two group games.

Seven members of the team then sought asylum in Australia, but only two ended up staying.

The men similarly did not sing before a match at Qatar 2022 amid the anti-government protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.

But in LA they had their hands on their heart as they sang along.

While some booed and jeered at the start of the anthem, the crowd erupted joyously when both Iranian goals were scored.

Political play

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has repeatedly tried to distance himself from politics but has close ties to US President Donald Trump, highlighted by the now widely criticised FIFA Peace Prize.

The day before the tournament kicked off Mr Infantino urged detractors to "chill".

"We have to respect that we are not kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces," he said.

"We are a sports organisation that does as much as we can.

"It's important sometimes to chill, relax. We work on everything. Sometimes screaming and shouting does not find a solution."

In the same press conference he celebrated Iran's participation, saying he would have driven a bus from Tehran himself to ensure they would get to the US.

Mr Zeinalzadeh says there is hypocrisy in FIFA's stance.

"When we look at the theory of FIFA, their aim to try to promote peace, and [then] award President Trump with a peace prize, it's funny how they can then turn a blind eye to a conflict that's taking place in the same country that they awarded the peace prize to," he said.

"I'm not one to suggest what an organisation like FIFA should do, but my personal view is that they should pick and choose a stance and stick to it.

"Either you're going to get involved in politics or you're not. And I don't think FIFA or any other sporting organisation should necessarily become actively involved in engaging in a political manner that could backfire."

Mr Zeinalzadeh argued soft diplomacy was a more appropriate approach, like using sport to bring communities together.

"But when it becomes political like this I think there's a line that mustn't be crossed. Once you do, you're in very uncertain territory," he said.

"This is the World Cup, this is all about sport, this is all about football, this is all about nations that have traditionally got along together, and sometimes not, coming together under one banner of sport.

"So I think that should be the message of priority rather than necessarily thinking about the political side of things."

For their part, the players and coach refused to be drawn into the political arguments before the game.

"We respect all Iranians, be it the Iranians who are inside the country or Iranians who are outside the country," said striker Mehdi Taremi in the pre-match press conference through a FIFA interpreter.

"We are here to play football, and football can always unite all factions. Our people, we love them inside or outside Iran."

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