INGLEWOOD, Calif. — When a troop of chanting, flag-wielding, gently furious protesters filtered towards SoFi Stadium ahead of Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand last week, railing against a national team they framed as a puppet of the divisive regime back home, their competition was one poor soul sweating through a giant panda costume handing out free key rings.There were more voices vying for attention ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Belgium.A modest pocket of fans clustered around the northern entrance of the venue to offer a counterpoint to the anti-regime protests. Stood in front of a banner which accused FIFA of staging “War Games,” supporters called for an end to “U.S. war on Iran” while brandishing the post-revolutionary flag and a pink backpack. This was a nod to the protest carried out by the Iran national team before a March friendly with Nigeria after a missile strike in southern Iran killed around 165 people, mostly children, as reported by AP. Pro-regime, anti-U.S. protesters formed outside SoFi. | Sports IllustratedLess than 100 yards across the street was a concentration of anti-regime protesters draped in the flag banned by FIFA, which has a sun and lion emblazoned across its center. The message was simple: “They are IRGC team, not Iran team,” Sara, 34, tells Sports Illustrated. “It doesn’t matter what they say.”“You are here on a historical day,” Sara tells me.A small group snaked around the maze of metal fences to really ram home that sense of history: what other World Cup fixture has ever had fans from the same nation directly confronting their compatriots over an ideological contrast during an ongoing global conflict? One anti-regime supporter took it upon himself to bellow his disdain for what he described as a “glorifying of murderers” through a blow horn a matter of steps away from the rival faction of fans.There was a frank exchange of opinions outside of the stadium. | Sports Illustrated“For many years, ‌the civilized country of Iran has been a united nation,” Iran striker Mehdi Taremi said earlier this month. “We want to showcase that unity.” Division was the overriding theme for Sunday’s match.Protests Contained Outside, Confused InsideThere was more of a contained protest on Sunday. | Sports IllustratedThe stadium security of SoFi clearly adopted the sound maxim of once bitten, twice shy. Having been perhaps caught unaware by the vociferous nature of supporters which gathered before the clash with New Zealand, there was a clear case of pre-emptive caution on Sunday.The swelling crowd which formed beside the Forum’s parking lot had planned on moving its demonstration onto the stadium’s patch only to be met with a firm rebuttal. Californian Highway Patrol calmly (but forcefully) informed any protesters that they would be arrested if they crossed the street. As one officer told Sports Illustrated, a permit had been acquired to voice any concerns from the swathes of empty concrete, but that jurisdiction did not carry over to the stadium and its surrounding area.Those that managed to gather outside Gate B were corralled by a cordon of bicycles and the natural barrier of the end of the sidewalk.A giant Iran flag with the sun and lion insignia was unfurled. | Sports IllustratedInside the ground, the overriding voice was one of support for the national team—although that wasn’t universal. Each Iran player flashed up on the futuristic LED screen sweeping around the roof of this spaceship venue received a cheer from the crowd pregame, while there were boos for manager Amir Ghalenoei.The national anthem was a buzz of competing boos and cheers, but everyone not in the red of Belgium seemed to wildly celebrate when Taremi swept the ball into the bottom corner. There were tears from some fans, which took on a new meaning when VAR found that Iran’s No. 9 had strayed offside.“The players of the national team play for every Iranian,” Taremi said last week. “People have different opinions but we are here as footballers to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians, irrespective of where they live.” As everyone has discovered this summer, it’s not quite as easy as that.READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow