AFP14 Jun, 2026 10:25 PM4 mins to readA protester holds a placard reading "FIFA: Blocking our historic flag is supporting repression" during a demonstration in commemoration of the National Lion and Sun Day. Protesters are demanding the use of the Iranian Sun And Lion Flag during the Fifa Football World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and US. Photo / Getty ImagesWhen Iran takes to the field tomorrow for the first game of its World Cup, Sara Barahman will be among the thousands of protesters outside the stadium waving a specific flag: the one used by the country before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
If these banners – featuring a lion
