Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 2:21 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 2:27 p.m.
Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali has warned that the national team will walk out of World Cup matches in the event of protests by the Persian diaspora against the country's Islamic leadership.
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Iran v New Zealand on Tuesday 16th June at 4:00 in Group G
Ahmad Donyamali claimed he had already informed the governing body of the International Football Federation. “If we hear and see political slogans in the stadiums, we will leave the pitch,” said Donyamali, quoted by the DPA agency.
In addition, FIFA has been asked to ensure that fans can only bring the official flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran into stadiums and not the previous Persian one. In such cases, the team will be withdrawn from the field, according to the minister.
Iran will withdraw the team from the field if another flag appears
The old lion and sun flag is particularly favored by monarchist opposition groups and is used at protest rallies abroad as a symbol of resistance against the Islamic system in Iran. Observers doubt that such a ban could be imposed at the World Cup, according to sport.aktuality.sk.
The old lion and sun flag is particularly favored by monarchist opposition groups and is used at protest rallies abroad as a symbol of resistance against the Islamic system in Iran // photo: Imago
Two of Iran's three group stage matches, against New Zealand and Belgium, will be played in Los Angeles, home to the two million Iranians in the US. For them, the tour provides a platform to make their protests against the regime known.
The participation of the Iranian team in the World Cup is overshadowed by the military conflict between Iran and the US, which broke out in February. The national team has moved its training camp from Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana, and the team can only travel to its games in the US on game day. The Iranians will play their third match in Seattle against Egypt.
