Antalya (Turkey) (AFP) – Iran’s World Cup squad left Turkey for Mexico on Saturday, taking off under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington after the US refused to issue visas for some of the team’s support squad. The dispute erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The team took off around 6:10 pm (1510 GMT) for Tijuana in northwest Mexico, where they will be based for the duration of the tournament, on what was expected to be a 20-hour flight, Iranian state TV reported. The team “took off this evening for Mexico to participate in the World Cup after” training in Turkey, it said. Team Melli had spent nearly three weeks at a training camp in Antalya, using their time in Turkey to apply for visas to travel to Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
On the eve of their departure for Mexico, the players received their US visas, Washington’s envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack said on X late Friday. But Iran’s embassy to Turkey said a “large” number of managerial and executive staff and others had been denied visas, prompting a furious response. “You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level,” the embassy wrote on X on Saturday. “FIFA must hold the US accountable for violations of its rules and for the discriminatory treatment of Iran’s national football team.” Iranian state TV said the players and their technical staff had received visas, but 15 others on the administrative and management side had not. It said the matter would be followed up in Mexico.
Iran’s Football Federation, whose chief Mehdi Taj was reportedly among those denied a visa, also hit out, describing the decision as “political interference in sport in its worst form.” “By extending its hostile behaviour towards the Iranian nation into the field of sport, the US government has deprived Iran’s national team of…the opportunity to compete without discrimination,” it said, pledging to pursue the matter with FIFA.
In response, a US administration official confirmed that “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued.” Without directly addressing the matter of those whose visas were refused, the official added: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences.” In April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with the Iranian players but “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them,” suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, a group on the US terror blacklist. Taj himself is a former Guards member, Iranian media in the diaspora have said.
Tensions over the Middle East war have complicated the US visa issue for Iran’s Team Melli, who shifted their World Cup base from Tucson in the US state of Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana. The war began after the US and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28. An April 8 ceasefire, which largely halted the fighting, has come under strain from recent exchanges of fire by the US and Iran. Team Melli will be based in Tijuana for the duration of the tournament, but all three of their group stage matches are due to be held in the United States.
Iran, who are in Group G, will play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. Ahead of their departure, Iran played a final friendly against Mali in Antalya on Thursday, which they won 2-0. They played a first match on May 29, beating Gambia 3-1.
© 2024 AFP
