The U.S. drug czar portrayed a menu of changes to anti-doping protocols being proposed by a World Anti-Doping Agency panel as moves that would “undermine the trustworthiness of the performances of competitors" at future Olympics.
Sara Carter, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, sent an open letter Monday to WADA and its stakeholders. It comes a day before an “extraordinary meeting” of the WADA executive committee at which it will discuss recommendations from a “working group” put together in the wake of a doping case involving Chinese swimmers.
Carter derided what she said was the “unjustifiable exclusion” of U.S. authorities from the meeting. WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald said the U.S. wasn't invited due to its government's refusal to pay its WADA dues, which is part of a bigger feud between the U.S. and the global anti-doping regulator stemming from the China doping saga and a long-running scandal involving Russia.
“The working group’s objective and recommendations are designed to strengthen the independence and credibility of the anti-doping process, including at major events,” Fitzgerald said.
Among the group's recommendations would be to transfer some testing responsibilities to an independent agency and away from the hands of a host-country anti-doping agency. For the LA Olympics in two years, that could weaken the role of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has fought WADA hard over its handling of the Russian and Chinese affairs.
"The robust and vigorous participation of NADOs in the anti-doping ecosystem is of particular importance to the United States as we strive to ensure the cleanest Olympic and Paralympic Games ever,” Carter wrote.
Fitzgerald said Tuesday's meeting is only to discuss the recommendations and no action is planned.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
FILE - President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Witold Banka speaks during a press briefing for the upcoming 2025 WADA World Conference on Doping in Sports, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, file)
FILE - Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Sara Carter at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos, file)
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Iranian Americans are torn over Iran's participation in the World Cup, as some community members plan to watch Monday's match and others are protesting outside the stadium where the team will play.
A rally was taking shape outside the stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. Many of Southern California’s Iranian Americans arrived after the Islamic Revolution, and a hub of eateries, shops and markets about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the stadium is known as “Tehrangeles.”
Rally participants were wearing lion-and-sun T-shirts and wave the country's flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest of Tehran’s deadly January crackdown on dissent. Just hours before kickoff, a Los Angeles judge upheld FIFA's ban on the pre-revolutionary flag at matches, The Athletic reported.
Ali Javahery, a 59-year-old consultant who was born in Iran and lives in California's Orange County, said he would be outside protesting Iran's opening match against New Zealand, not inside watching it. He said soccer and politics are intertwined, and though he loves the sport, he says the national team's players are under pressure to adhere to the Iranian government's positions.
“This is not ‘Team Melli,’” as the national team is known in Persian, Javahery said. “This is Team Islamic Republic.”
Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with U.S. and Israeli forces. The team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's key soccer officials had not been granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government, through their love of soccer.
“We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live,” team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday. “We are here to bring joy to Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.”
Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he will watch the game with his 96-year-old father in San Diego. He said he didn’t buy tickets for the game, partly because of the sky-high pricing. But he said he supports the team, politics aside, while respecting the wide range of views shared by Iranians in the diaspora.
“I’m a football die-hard, and the boys, they’re representing all Persians, Iranians around the world,” said Garajedaghi, who left Iran when he was 10 years old. “To me, it has nothing to do with whatever government they have in Iran.”
Watch parties are planned to cheer on the team in Southern California, and when Iran was assigned last year to play in LA, many bought tickets. But in recent months some said they have sold off their tickets in anger, following January's brutal repression.
Some Iranian American soccer fans have also said the team is currently tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country’s leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for the World Cup squad this year, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called Azmoun an “excellent player” and said he wished he were with the team.
“I am just happy that they are coming to watch us and I hope that they will pray for us and I hope that they will encourage us,” Ghalenoei said Sunday when asked about the sizable diaspora. He added that he hoped the team would pay back that loyalty by playing a good game.
Some Iranian Americans are also upset about FIFA's rule barring political flags from being flown. They want to fly the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag, which is not the official flag of Iran. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty filed a lawsuit last week to challenge FIFA’s flag rule, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday the ban could stand.
“There may be harm to some 2,500 staff members who have to deal with safety protocols,” Judge Curtis Kin said, according to The Athletic. “It is a tremendous burden to change a long-standing stadium protocol for a massive event in a period of hours. It is hard to see how FIFA could make a change at one stadium and not the rest.”
During Friday's opening ceremony in Los Angeles, members of the mostly American crowd booed when Iran's flag was brought onto the field.
Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. Details of the deal, expected to be signed Friday, weren't available.
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
People protest outside Los Angeles Stadium before the World Cup Group G soccer match between Iran and New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Pre-revolutionary Iranian flags stand during a protest outside Los Angeles Stadium before the World Cup Group G soccer match between Iran and New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
People protest outside Los Angeles Stadium before the World Cup Group G soccer match between Iran and New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A woman has her face painted during a protest in reaction to FIFA's ban of Iran's pre-revolutionary flag inside World Cup stadiums Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Hanson)
Iran head coach Amir Ghalehnoy, right, and player Mehdi Taremi listens to a question during a press conference ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
People carry a giant Iranian flag during a protest in reaction to FIFA's ban of Iran's pre-revolutionary flag inside World Cup stadiums Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Hanson)
Iran's Mehdi Ghayedi, center, and teammates walk onto the pitch at the stadium one day before their FIFA World Cup match against New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Iran players walk onto the pitch at the stadium one day before their FIFA World Cup match against New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
