Protests erupt in 'Tehrangeles' as regime cheerleader takes World Cup field
Watch live as protests roar outside the stadium ... and maybe on the field itself.
Woke progressive enclave Seattle has set up “protest zones” around the stadium where four World Cup matches are set to take place, but it’s Los Angeles where the much more interesting demonstrations are set to take place. Iran faces New Zealand tonight at SoFi Stadium, and not everyone is thrilled the team was allowed to come here and participate. To say the least.
Among those taking the field is Mehdi Torabi, a favorite of Khamenei whom the dictator dubbed “dignified” in 2022 for declining to wear a black wristband in solidarity with protesters crushed by the regime.
In fact, the soccer star was accused of deliberately taking a penalty “with the express purpose of revealing a pro-regime message on a shirt underneath his jersey.” It’s a stunt he pulled once before, revealing a shirt in 2019 in protest of the people’s protests that said “The only path to salvation of country is to follow orders of the leader.”
East Coaster may not realize the size of the Iranian diaspora concentrated in Los Angeles just a few miles from the stadium. West LA is home to the largest Iranian community in the world, outside of Iran. Tehrangeles, it is sometimes called. Or “Little Persia.”
Protesters outside the stadium on Sunday waved the Lion and Sun flag, the flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution. But inside the stadium, you’re not likely to see it. FIFA has banned it from inside World Cup stadiums.
Tonight as Torabi takes the field, you have to wonder if he’ll try for another demonstration of his loyalty to the regime. A shirt, a message, a penalty display, it’s possible. In the shadow of the deal between Iran and the U.S., the team that faced the prospect of being excluded from the World Cup now has the chance to not just show up and play, but do so free from messages against that regime inside the stadium.
But outside? Well you can watch that below.