Controversy was stirred at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday with one player’s questionable celebration.
In a 2-2 draw with New Zealan, Iran midfielder Mohammad Mohebi scored his country’s second goal and appeared to act out firing guns as his celebration
Many on social media were outraged by the celebration and believed it to be made in reference to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.
Mohebi responded to criticism of his celebration in a post-match interview.
“The celebration was just coming in the mind, in the moment,” he said. “I do it like this [gestures with his hands] and I wanted to do it like this for all the fans. It’s just a celebration you know, and that’s it.”
Mohebi’s teammate took a different approach with his own celebration.
Ramin Rezaein was the other scorer in Monday’s game, and his celebration involved lifting his jersey over his head to cover his face.
Rezaein shared that his celebration had a message.
REUTERS
“It’s something political …I don’t want to talk about that,” he said after the match. “We are here to answer football questions. If there is a problem between us [the Iranian people], it is between us.”
The discourse arose as the Iranian team was dealing with other issues.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei claimed his team was forced to immediately leave the US and fly back to their base in Mexico after Monday’s match in Los Angeles, despite original plans to fly back Tuesday morning.
“We’ve been asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana and we are really troubled by that. They are forcing us to go back early,” he said. “They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”
Iran’s other group stage matchups also take place in the US.
They face Belgium in Los Angeles on Monday and Egypt in Seattle on June 27.
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