Iran’s furious World Cup stars launch official complaint over brutal travel restrictions… but Trump’s administration hits back
Angry Iranian World Cup stars will lodge a complaint with FIFA, claiming they are being subjected to brutal travel restrictions during the tournament in North America.
Iran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to America two days before their next match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.
But a spokesman for the Iranian federation said its request was turned down.
‘Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organizers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,’ the spokesman said.
‘Given that the game will be played at 12:00pm local time in Los Angeles, the Football Federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match.’
It said the aim of its request was to allow players ‘to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalize preparations’.
The Iranian World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA over its brutal travel treatment
Iran, based in Tijuana, is only allowed to enter America one day before World Cup matches
‘Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied,’ the federation spokesman added.
‘The federation will formally express its dissatisfaction and lodge an official complaint with FIFA through the appropriate channels.’
The Iranians slammed their ‘oppressive’ and ‘disastrous’ treatment on Monday night when they claimed they were kicked out of the US immediately after their opening game.
In an extraordinary attack following his team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Los Angeles, striker Mehdi Taremi pleaded with FIFA to ‘help’ resolve the ‘unfair’ ordeal.
Prior to the tournament kicking off, it had been agreed that Iran would fly in and out of the USA – where all of their group matches are being held – on the days they play.
Since war broke out in February, uncertainty has surrounded Iran’s participation in the tournament.
Donald Trump warned the team not to come – for their ‘own life and safety’, while Iran moved its base from Arizona to Mexico. Nearly a dozen members of its delegation were later denied visas.
After Monday’s game against New Zealand, FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the Iranians’ dressing room. Just minutes later, head coach Amir Ghalenoei and Taremi suggested the US authorities were forcing them to fly back to their Tijuana base against their wishes.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino went into the Iranian locker room after their game on Monday
Iranian team officials slammed its ‘oppressive’ and ‘disastrous’ treatment at the World Cup
‘Everything is like a disaster actually for us… Still, we have some problems because we are supposed to be training tomorrow morning – recovery – then leave for Tijuana,’ the striker said.
‘But we have to leave Los Angeles right now, and it’s not good for us. It’s not good for the football, because in a World Cup, you have to prepare good for the next game, because it is a lot of stress for the players and the staff and everyone. But we don’t have that support and I think FIFA have to help us more than this.’
Taremi claimed Iran’s players asked Infantino why they were being kicked out. When asked what the FIFA president told them in the dressing room, Taremi added: ‘He just wants to help us.
‘It’s the beginning of the World Cup now, and he will help us… We believe everything he says.’
Teammate Mohammad Mohebi said their treatment was not ‘fair’ and Ghalenoei echoed his players’ feelings, claiming: ‘They said we had to leave immediately.
‘It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that… we do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange.’
The head coach continued: ‘It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions made elsewhere, we were supposed [to arrive] two nights before the game and we were not permitted.
‘We were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why and they haven’t told [us]… our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.’
Andrew Giuliani, chief of the White House FIFA Task Force, said Iran knew of the restrictions
Iran wanted to fly from Tijuana two days before their next match against Belgium on Sunday
The US administration has pushed back against the Iranian claims.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said on Monday that Iran had been informed in advance that they would only be allowed to enter the United States on the day before the game.
‘The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match,’ Giuliani told CBS News.
‘They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles.’
He added that the procedure would be the same for Iran’s final group game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
The tension comes as Trump announced last weekend that a deal to end the war with Iran is ‘all signed’. The official signing ceremony is set to be held in Switzerland on Friday.
But there are doubts over whether his memorandum of understanding with Iran can lead to the end of the three and a half month long war. The timing is fluid and there’s been scant confirmation about the details of the signing ceremony.
