FIFA keeps – A last-minute emergency hearing in Los Angeles upheld FIFA’s ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian flags at the World Cup, with the judge rejecting an attempt to let a lion-and-sun design into SoFi Stadium hours before Iran’s tournament opener against New Zealand.
Hours before Iran kick off their World Cup against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, a Los Angeles courtroom cleared the way for FIFA to keep its ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian flags.
The flag at the centre of the dispute resembles Iran’s official national flag but adds a lion and sun motif in the standard’s centre. It is historically linked to the country’s previous Shah-led regime, which was deposed in 1979.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and Sam Kermanian, an Iran fan intending to attend the game. The case was expedited and heard on Monday morning, with Judge Curtis A. Kin ruling that FIFA’s ban should be allowed to stand.
Kin acknowledged the weight of the argument about expression but still denied the application. “Free speech is incredibly important. it is sacred. a bedrock of our society. but it is not without limitation. such as private actor. on private property. and as shown by previous cases. regulating in reasonable way. I deny the application.”.
In court, Kin pointed to the practical burden of changing stadium protocols on short notice. He said there may be harm to roughly 2. 500 staff members who have to deal with safety protocols. calling it “a tremendous burden to change a long-standing stadium protocol for a massive event in a period of hours.” He also said it was hard to see how FIFA could make a change at one stadium without extending it across the rest.
Kin also rejected the idea that a stadium behaves like a public space. He argued that a stadium, where a ticket for entry is required, is not public like a park or a street.
Lawyer Shahrokh Mokhtarzadeh, representing Kermanian, pushed back using California Supreme Court reasoning. He argued that a business entity should not be allowed to require a customer to waive freedom of speech rights as a condition of attending an event. Mokhtarzadeh said the World Cup is a joint venture between FIFA and governments. and therefore the stadium is taking on a public forum.
He told the judge he was speaking for 5,000 members of the Institute for Voice of Liberty. “They are ticket holders, with a right to attend game with their own flag. This is being violated. It may be trivial to many, to them it is critical. There is a huge Iranian community in California. many are not going to want to walk in with Islamic Republic flag. They are being denied their exercise of free speech. This is not someone yelling fire in a theatre.”.
That prompted an exchange from Kin. He asked: “So you could walk in with a Nazi flag or Confederate flag or Soviet flag or that of the KKK?”
Mokhtarzadeh said those groups should also be protected by the right to free speech. He added: “Denial will cause more problems than are lost. (Allowing the lion and sun flag) is a way of preventing problems in the stadium. Right to free speech far outweighs any concern FIFA may have.”
Chris Boehning, acting on behalf of FIFA, argued that emergency relief was not appropriate because “the plaintiffs were well aware of this match for many, many months.” Judge Kin agreed.
Before Monday’s ruling. FIFA’s position had consistently leaned on stadium regulations about what supporters are permitted to bring in. FIFA previously provided a list of banned items from their stadium code of conduct when asked what would be allowed. describing restrictions on “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 presumption is that the pre-revolutionary flag has been deemed “political” in nature. and a source inside FIFA with direct knowledge of its position said that is the case. FIFA did not confirm exactly which regulation it breached. and it remains to be seen how the policy is applied in practice by security officials at venues.
Even with pre-revolutionary Iran flags prohibited, The Athletic witnessed multiple instances of supporters unfurling them during the Qatar vs. Switzerland match at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday.
Iran have been training ahead of the tournament at the Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana, Mexico.
After staying in Los Angeles for their second match of Group G against Belgium on June 21, Iran’s third game is scheduled against Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 26.
FIFA Iran flag ban lion and sun flag pre-revolutionary Iran World Cup Judge Curtis A. Kin Sam Kermanian Institute for Voice of Liberty Shah regime SoFi Stadium Group G New Zealand Belgium Egypt
So FIFA just gets to decide what flags count now? Wild.
They’re saying it’s about “protocols” but it sounds like censorship to me. If it’s a lion and sun, that’s not even that different from other historical stuff.
Wait, I thought the lion and sun was the actual modern Iranian flag? Like, isn’t that what they fly all the time? If they banned it then why do they even let fans in at all, you know?
Free speech but “private actor on private property”… yeah that’s the usual loophole. Also changing anything in hours? Sure, I get it, but FIFA could’ve planned better instead of waiting til game day. And why does it say 2,500 staff like that number makes the ban automatically reasonable? Seems like politics wrapped in paperwork.