“Everything is a disaster for us, actually,” Taremi said at Los Angeles Stadium.
Eleven members of Iran’s soccer delegation, including the head of the nation’s soccer federation, a media officer and a security officer, have been unable to secure visas to enter the U.S. Iran had originally planned to set up its training base camp in Tuscon, Ariz., but moved it to Tijuana, Mexico, due to security concerns. Iran flew up from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday, the day before its match: Taremi said the trip took five hours, implying that immigration procedures slowed things down. And the team had to fly right back to Mexico after the game on Monday night, disrupting rest and recovery. Iran is due to return to Los Angeles for Sunday’s game against Belgium, a matchup that could determine whether Team Melli—“the National Team” in Persian—moves on to the Round of 32.
On and off the Los Angeles Stadium soccer field, it couldn’t have been a more emotionally-charged day for those wearing Iranian green, white, and red. Team Melli was not only playing its first World Cup game in the U.S.: on Sunday, both the U.S. and Iran announced a potential peace deal to end the war. Members of America’s Iranian diaspora, which is particularly strong in Los Angeles, arrived at the stadium in droves: the crowd of 70,108, although filled with some New Zealanders and fans from other nations, made it feel like an Iran home game.
“This is not the national team of Iran,” says Satggin Jalali, an Iranian activist living in Los Angeles. “This team does not represent Iran and the Iranian people. They represent the terrorist regime,” Jalali, 47, never considered buying a ticket to support the team. “I don’t want to be there,” she says.
Another group isn’t torn at all about cheering. “The national team feels like my family, and I support them regardless of what is happening,” says Anahita Seyed, an architect from the Bay Area who was born and raised in Iran and moved to the U.S. some 15 years ago. “My love for Iran is very strong. It's actually been growing stronger because I feel my country has been going through a lot the last year, from different sides.”
Protestor Kourosh Salman, wearing a Make Iran Great Again hat, commended President Donald Trump for using force against the Iranian regime, though a theocracy is still in place. “We want full regime change and to bring democracy in Iran and freedom for our people,” says Salman, a general contractor in Irvine, Calif.
The Iranian players seem less fond of talking about Trump. A reporter asked Taremi and his teammate Mohammad Mohebbi, who scored the game-tying goal in the 64th minute, whether they had a message for Trump. Even the verbose Taremi wasn’t touching that one. “We are here to play football, my friend,” Taremi responded. At 10:06 p.m. local time, Iran’s team bus finally began its departure from Los Angeles Stadium, for a late-night flight. Bound for Mexico.
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