Iran warns it will halt World Cup matches if fans chant anti-team slogans

Iran has warned it will stop play during its 2026 FIFA World Cup matches if spectators chant slogans against the national team or display unauthorized flags.

Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali notified FIFA that the team's coach bears responsibility for halting any match in which fans display unauthorized flags or chant slogans against the team, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing local Iranian media.

The Iranian squad is currently training in Mexico and will enter the United States the day before each match, the US Department of Homeland Security said.

Amid the tournament's approach, Iran's team has also faced calls for its exclusion, with critics arguing the squad represents the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than the Iranian people.

Further controversy surrounds Iran's group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26, which has been designated a "Pride Match" in support of LGBTQ+ rights.

Seattle's local World Cup organizing committee had planned last year to hold an event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community during a group-stage match, designating the June 26 fixture as a Pride Match before the tournament draw had even taken place.

The designation has sparked an outcry now that the match pits Iran against Egypt — two countries that criminalize or suppress same-sex relations.

The football associations of both Iran and Egypt, which had demanded that any LGBTQ+-related activities be banned from the match, said they received assurances from the organizing committee that "no incidents would occur to disrupt the Seattle match."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the situation ahead of the tournament's opening.

Speaking at a pre-tournament news conference at a stadium in Mexico City on Thursday, Infantino said he had promised Iran's team would attend the World Cup. "I am really delighted that Iran can participate," he said.

Iran is in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, and must play all three group-stage matches in the United States. The team relocated its base camp from the US to Mexico amid rising tensions stemming from the war between the two countries. Iran secured the visas needed to enter the United States, though the permitted length of stay is understood to be restricted.

"People said Iran would not be able to come to the World Cup, but I promised the team would come," Infantino said. "I said if necessary I would personally get on a bus and go to Tehran to bring the players myself."

He added that while the situation had been difficult and far from straightforward, he was not sure who else could have made it possible for Iran to come and play under such circumstances.

Infantino said he expected Iran's matches to sell out and expressed hope for a positive atmosphere. "Football is about people forgetting reality and focusing on the game and the teams," he said.