Viral video shows confrontation between man, Iraqi soccer fans at DFW Airport
A passenger traveling through DFW Airport was caught on video destroying a banner held by Iraqi soccer fans and then engaging in a profane argument with the group.
The soccer fans were flying on Monday to Mexico, where the Iraqi national team was set to take on Bolivia to secure one of the final spots in the 2026 World Cup.
In the video obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV, fans are seen holding flags and a banner with Arabic and English script on it, and chanting in the terminal. After a few seconds, a man in a neon orange shirt walks through the middle of the banner, tearing it down.
The man then begins to shout profanities at the gathered soccer fans.
“You’re in America, you don’t come to America and do that,” the man can be heard yelling in an uncensored version of the video.
“It’s a game,” one of the Iraqi fans replies. “This is a soccer game.”
Airport police were called, but no arrests were made, airport officials told WFAA.
Social media commenters decried the man’s behavior as racist and expressed concerns for further hostilities at this summer’s World Cup matches in the United States.
“This World Cup is gonna make headlines for all the wrong reasons,” one commenter wrote.
Another commenter called on FIFA to cancel all the matches scheduled in the U.S. for fear of violence.
“Shocking, an old white guy with a golf hat on hates Muslims,” one comment reads.
Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1 in Tuesday night’s match and secured the last remaining spot in the tournament’s Group I, which also includes France, Senegal and Norway.
