00:21Iran's goal scorer, Ramin Rezaian, was asked a simple question after the match,
00:26about the boos his team's national anthem received before kickoff.
00:31His response was blunt.
00:33If there is any problem between us, it is our business.
00:37It is none of your business.
00:39He continued, calling it polite but firm.
00:43I respect you, but this is something between us and we're going to settle it.
00:48Don't worry.
00:49A football match, a national anthem,
00:52and suddenly a World Cup opener turns into a political flashpoint.
00:58This happened in Los Angeles on Monday.
01:01Hundreds of protesters gathered before the game, beating drums, chanting slogans,
01:07directly denouncing Iran's national football team, calling it a propaganda tool for Tehran.
01:13And these were not random voices in the crowd.
01:16Los Angeles is sometimes called Tehrangelis.
01:20It is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran itself.
01:25Many of them, or their parents, fled the country around the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
01:32And during the match, that history was on full display.
01:36Flags from before the revolution, a symbol frequently used by anti-regime protesters,
01:42were waved openly inside the venue.
01:45When Iran's national anthem played, it was met with a mix of boos, whistles and cheers.
01:51A divided reaction, playing out in real time, on a global stage.
01:56The match itself ended in a 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
02:01Security around the stadium was tight, given the scale of the protests expected beforehand.
02:06Interestingly, once the action started, much of the crowd appeared to vocally support Iran's attacking play,
02:14even amid the politically charged atmosphere outside.
02:18But after the final whistle, when journalists pressed Rezaian on the controversy,
02:23he made it clear he wasn't going there.
02:25Actually, we are here to answer football questions, he said.
02:29And then he pivoted, choosing his words carefully.
02:33You have to know, my people in Iran are so great, they are so good.
02:38Everyone in the world now knows about my people.
02:42A goal, an assist, and a political storm he clearly wanted no part of.
02:47What this moment really shows is something bigger than one match.
02:52A diaspora community using the World Cup stage to make a statement against their homeland's regime.
02:58A player caught between representing his country and avoiding a political minefield.
03:04And a global audience now watching this story spill far beyond the football pitch.
03:09The scoreline was 2-2, but the real headline tonight is everything that happened around the game.
03:39THEOLOG PARTNER
03:41THEOLOGY
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