'The mullahs' team': Split loyalties for Iran fans at World Cup

AI Summary

Iran's World Cup journey in Los Angeles was marked by significant controversy and protests, with demonstrators opposing the national team seen as aligned with Tehran's extremist government. Protesters waved the old Iranian flag and called for regime change, showing the deep political division among Iranian fans.

Iran's World Cup campaign began in Los Angeles in a blaze of goals and controversy Monday, with hundreds protesting against a team they see as stooges for an extremist government in Tehran. A boisterous protest greeted fans arriving at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, with demonstrators waving the pre-revolutionary flag detested by the leaders of the Islamic republic. "This team is not the Iranian people's team, it's the regime's team," said Ava Amin, a philosophy student who came to demonstrate with a banner calling for "regime change."