FIFA's ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian flag upheld after emergency hearing

FIFA's ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian flags during the World Cup has been upheld after an emergency hearing in Los Angeles. The flag, which resembles the country's official flag but has a lion and sun in the center, was the subject of a lawsuit filed Thursday by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and Sam Kermanian, an Iranian fan who wanted to go to the game. This flag is historically associated with the regime of the previous Shah, who was deposed in 1979. The lawsuit was heard on an expedited basis Monday morning, just before Iran opens its tournament against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Judge Curtis A. Kin ruled that the ban should be upheld. He said: “Free speech is incredibly important, it is sacred, the foundation of our society, but it also has limitations, such as with private actors on private property.” He explained that there could be potential harm to the 2,500 employees who had to deal with safety protocols. He stated that it would be a huge burden to change a long-standing stadium protocol for a major event within hours. Kin argued that a stadium, which requires a ticket for entry, is not public like a park or a street.


Lawyer Shahrokh Mokhtarzadeh, who represents Kermanian, rejected this reasoning. He argued that a company should not force a customer to give up their freedom of expression as a condition of access. He stated that the World Cup is a joint project between FIFA and governments and that the stadium should therefore be considered a public forum. Mokhtarzadeh spoke on behalf of 5,000 members of the Institute for Voice of Liberty: "They are ticket holders, with the right to attend the match with their own flag. This is being violated. To many it may seem trivial, but to them it is essential. There is a large Iranian community in California, many do not want to enter with the flag of the Islamic Republic. They are being denied their right to freedom of expression."

This led to an exchange in which Judge Kin asked, “So you can come in with a Nazi flag or a Confederate flag?” Mokhtarzadeh responded that those people should also be protected by the right to freedom of expression. He added: "Denial will cause more problems than lost. (Allowing the lion and sun flag) is a way to avoid problems in the stadium. The right to freedom of expression far outweighs any concern FIFA might have." Chris Boehning, acting for FIFA, stated that the claimants had been aware of this competition for months and that emergency relief was not appropriate. Judge Kin agreed. FIFA has consistently referred to stadium rules regarding what is and is not allowed within the venues. The Athletic has approached FIFA for further comment following Monday's ruling. FIFA was previously asked by The Athletic whether the pre-revolutionary flag would be allowed and responded by providing a list of banned items from their stadium code of conduct. “All materials, including but not limited to banners, flags, flyers, clothing and other paraphernalia, that are political, offensive and/or discriminatory in nature, containing text,symbols or other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind against a country, a private person or group on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national or social origin, gender identity and expression, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, birth, wealth or any other status, sexual preference or on any other grounds,” their list reads. The presumption is that the pre-revolutionary flag has been assessed as “political” in nature. A source within FIFA with direct knowledge of the matter told The Athletic that this is the case Despite the ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian flags, The Athletic has seen supporters unfurling them several times during the match between Qatar and Switzerland at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday. Iran remains in Los Angeles for their second Group G match against Belgium on June 21. The team's third match in the tournament is against Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle.

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