by Mark McDermott
An internationally fraught incident occurred in Manhattan Beach this week when the Iranian soccer team competing in the FIFA World Cup arrived for a brief, yet controversial overnight stay at the westdrift Manhattan Beach hotel.
The Iranian men’s national team arrived in Southern California Sunday afternoon and was housed at the four-star hotel located roughly six miles from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the team would open its World Cup play against New Zealand the following evening. Westdrift is the official team hotel for several international teams.
The team’s bus pulled into the hotel Sunday at about 3 p.m. under heavy police escort, met by demonstrators who chanted against the Iranian government as the players arrived. The hotel was fortified by barricades, wire, and dozens of police officers, its entrances and exits sealed to guests only.
The protests reflected the divisions within Southern California’s Iranian community, home to the largest Iranian diaspora outside Iran. Many demonstrators carried the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag, with its lion-and-sun emblem — a symbol embraced by opposition groups and diaspora activists who reject the Islamic Republic. Some wore “Free Iran” T-shirts.
One protester outside the hotel, Koroush Krumarsi, questioned why anyone would turn out to support a team representing the government. In a video published by The National, the Abu Dhabi-based news organization, he said the team came with the symbols of the Islamic Republic.
“The team comes with the flag of Islamic Republic and National Anthem for the Islamic Republic,” Krumarsi said. “This regime has occupied Iran for 47 years and destroyed Iran’s culture, everything. That’s why we [are trying to start] a revolution and change the regime in Iran. If I wanted to say something to [the team], it is shame on you, shame on you.”
That sentiment followed the team beyond Manhattan Beach. At the team’s training session at the LA Galaxy’s ground in Carson, a group of about 20 demonstrators chanted against the Iranian government through megaphones, according to New York Times’ support site, The Athletic. One woman there, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, told the outlet the players represented the regime rather than the people. “They represent the regime which kills people,” she said, vowing that opposition supporters would “create a hell in Los Angeles.”
The pre-revolutionary flag surfaced again at the stadium, where, according to The Athletic, fans smuggled the banned banners past security or wore the lion-and-sun motif on T-shirts, holding them aloft in response to the current government’s flag unfurled on the pitch during pre-match protocols. A homemade banner reading “42,000 #IranMassacre” also appeared inside the stadium, a reference to civilians the Canada-based International Centre for Human Rights says have been killed by Iranian authorities since the start of the year.
The security operation outside the westdrift was a coordinated, multi-agency effort that Manhattan Beach folded into its broader planning for the tournament.
“The Manhattan Beach Police Department has coordinated extensively with our federal, State, and local security partners as part of our comprehensive planning for FIFA World Cup 2026, and the Iranian National Team’s presence in Manhattan Beach was fully integrated into those preparations,” Police Chief Rachel Johnson said.
“Our Department takes the safety of everyone in Manhattan Beach seriously, whether they are residents, visitors, or international guests, and we approached this situation with the same professionalism and preparation we brought to all aspects of our World Cup support mission. Our protocols are in place, our partnerships are active, and our personnel is well-positioned.”
The stay was brief by design — and by federal rule. Under the policy governing the team’s entry, Iran was permitted into the country the day before its match and required to leave the day the match concluded. Andrew Giuliani, who chairs the White House World Cup Task Force, described the framework to CBS News, saying teams would be allowed in the day before a match and asked to leave when it wrapped, citing security around base camps and training sites as well as stadiums.
The team did not spend a second night in Manhattan Beach. Its bus left SoFi Stadium at 10:07 p.m. Monday, about two hours after the match ended. Players told The Athletic their flight back to the team’s base in Tijuana, Mexico departed before midnight. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, in a statement to The Athletic, said the team “agreed to these terms.” An Iranian football federation official told the same outlet that FIFA had requested the immediate return to Tijuana, though The Athletic noted it remained unclear whether the requirement originated with FIFA or with U.S. restrictions on Iranian nationals.
The travel rules drew open objection from the team. After the 2-2 draw, head coach Amir Ghalenoei called his side “the most oppressed” team at the World Cup and said the players had been ordered to leave rather than stay to recover. Forward Mehdi Taremi told reporters the arrangement was “not good for the football” since it impacted the team’s ability to rest after the game. Both spoke through The Athletic, which reported that an Iranian federation official said 11 staffers had been denied U.S. entry.
The stay landed in a charged moment. The team’s World Cup run followed U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier in the year. Iranian players have worn “#168” pins honoring the 168 elementary schoolchildren killed in Minab on the first day of the conflict; a “MINAB168” banner appeared in the stands at SoFi. The team’s arrival came hours before a U.S.-Iran peace agreement was announced, with a signing expected Friday.
Chief Johnson said that despite the extraordinary circumstances of the Iranian team’s presence in Manhattan Beach, MBPD officers and their partnering agencies were well-prepared.
“We remain proud of the work our officers are doing alongside our valued law enforcement and emergency response partners, and we will continue working to keep Manhattan Beach safe for everyone,” Johnson said. ER
