“We will go to the United States on the condition that no flag other than the Islamic Republic’s flag is brought into the stadiums where Iran plays,” Iran’s football federation chief Mehdi Taj told reporters upon arrival in Tehran, after he was denied entry into Canada over his former membership in the Revolutionary Guards.
Members of the Iranian diaspora have increasingly displayed the pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag as a symbol of opposition to the Islamic Republic during Iran’s international matches. The flag has appeared at Iran games in past tournaments, turning stadiums into visible arenas of political protest against the regime.