Court authorizes FIFA to veto Iran’s opposition flag at the World Cup

The decision was taken just hours before Iran’s World Cup debut, in a match against New Zealand, at the SoFi Stadium, on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The region is home to a significant Iranian community, and hundreds of fans were expected to go to the game with the flag of the shah’s former government.

According to the decision, freedom of expression is “sacred, but not unlimited”. The judge understood that FIFA has the right to regulate demonstrations inside stadiums as it is a private event. The entity maintains a list of items prohibited in games, including materials of a political nature, such as the flag.

The action against the ban had been presented by the Institute for Voice of Libertyan organization based in the United States and linked to the Iranian opposition. The group argued that vetoing the flag could increase tensions between fans, instead of preventing them.

According to the entity’s lawyer, allowing the use of the symbol would be a way to prevent riots at the stadium. The argument, however, did not convince the judge, who authorized the maintenance of the restriction imposed by FIFA.

The lion and sun flag was the official symbol of Iran during the shah’s government, overthrown by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In recent decades, it began to be used by groups opposing the Iranian regime and gained strength in opposition demonstrations inside and outside the country.