In the northwestern Iranian city of Zanjan, people cheered and danced, actually celebrating their team's crushing 6-2 loss to England. Iranians who watched the match in England, meanwhile, were even more outspoken, chanting, death to Khamenei. That's Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The team did try to show solidarity with the protesters when players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before the match with England. But some protesters say it's impossible for Iran to compete in this cup without being seen as representing the regime in Tehran. Even so, Touraj says he's looking forward to the Iran team taking on the U.S..
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Now I understand where all the vuvuzelas and Iran chants came from.
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