Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been shadowed by uncertainty linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and related security concerns.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the Iranian squad in the dressing room after their match against New Zealand as tensions persist.
Several senior members of the team’s staff were denied US entry visas, and the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) called on FIFA to uphold neutrality, fairness, and established regulations after ticket allocations for the team were revoked on the eve of the tournament.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that the Iranian national football team had agreed to the conditions imposed.
The BBC has reached out to DHS for a response to Iran’s intentions to lodge a formal complaint.
Having relocated their base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico amid the regional conflict, Iran still has two group matches remaining in the United States.
They will face Belgium in Los Angeles on 21 June (20:00 BST) and Egypt in Seattle on 27 June (04:00 BST).
Iran stated that it needed to arrive in each host city two days before every match and return to its base camp the following day to achieve optimal technical and physical preparation. However, this request was not approved for the New Zealand game.
The same issue has resurfaced ahead of the second match against Belgium, according to the FFIRI.
“Given that the game will be played at 12:00 pm 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,” the federation said.
“The aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalize preparations,” it added.
Despite the technical reasons presented, the request was denied again.
The presidents of the United States and Iran have signed an initial peace deal aimed at ending the conflict, but Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said that Iran was aware of the challenges it faced concerning its matches.
“The team will be allowed to arrive the day before match day,” Giuliani told CBS News.
“They’ll be asked to leave the evening of the match, and the same arrangement will apply in Los Angeles.”
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