Los Angeles Judge Curtis A. Kin upheld FIFA’s ban on Iran’s pre-revolutionary “lion and sun” flag in an emergency hearing in Los Angeles ahead of Iran’s World Cup opener on Monday.
FIFA classified the flag as “political” material, which is prohibited at its events, though some of the flags were still spotted inside SoFi Stadium during the match.
Iran played New Zealand to a 2-2 draw the same day as the hearing. While the Iranian fan base largely opposes the current Iranian government, they still support the national team.
The judge ruled it was a reasonable limitation on speech by a private actor on private property and noted it would be an enormous burden to change longstanding stadium safety protocols for a massive event on such short notice.
A lawsuit was filed by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and an Iranian fan, arguing that displaying the flag — which represented Iran’s government before the 1980 Islamic Revolution — is a form of protected free speech.
During the hearing, the judge posed a hypothetical about whether fans should also be allowed to bring in Nazi, Confederate, Soviet or KKK flags. The plaintiffs’ attorney said he believed they should.
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