Iran Threatens To Stop World Cup Games If Unauthorized Flags Or Chants Appear

Iran has warned that it may stop its World Cup matches if fans bring in unauthorized flags or chant slogans against the national team in stadiums. The tournament is starting from Thursday and Iran will play its first two Group G matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, before taking on Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

While talking to the Iranian local media, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali claimed the management has informed FIFA that they could take extreme actions if players or team officials are targeted during the World Cup fixtures.

"We have informed FIFA that if unofficial flags are brought or slogans against the national team are chanted in the stadiums where Iran plays in the World Cup, the team manager will definitely be responsible for stopping the match," said Iranian sports minister Ahmad Donyamali.

"We have been assured that no disruptive incidents will occur in the stadium during the match against Egypt." added Ahmad Donyamali.

Meanwhile, Iran and Egypt’s football associations had earlier asked FIFA to prevent any LGBTQ+ Pride-linked events from being held during the Seattle fixture. This step was taken after organizers in the city had already planned to stage the match as a “Pride Match” to match Seattle’s Pride weekend.

Also in April, a protest took place outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver where demonstrators demanded that Iran be kept out of the competition. They said the national side is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instead of representing ordinary Iranians.

The Iranian team has also run into some organizational issues ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Iran’s football federation said on Tuesday that its ticket allocation was withdrawn just a few days before the World Cup begins. This has left fans, who had already arranged travel, unable to attend the matches.

Iran’s football team is currently based in Tijuana, Mexico for pre-tournament training. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the players will only be permitted to travel into the United States one day before each of their group-stage matches in the tournament.