Iran to file complaint with FIFA over World Cup restrictions

The Iranian Football Federation announced on Thursday that it will file a formal complaint with FIFA, alleging that its national team is facing travel restrictions during the World Cup in North America.

Iran had requested permission to fly from its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before its upcoming match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.

A federation spokesperson said the request was denied.

“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 12:00 pm local time in Los Angeles (1900 GMT), 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 purpose of the request was to allow players “to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalize preparations.”

“Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied,” the spokesman added. “The federation will formally express its dissatisfaction and lodge an official complaint with FIFA through the appropriate channels.”

Iran also expressed frustration that it had to leave Los Angeles the night of its first World Cup match, a 2‑2 draw against New Zealand.

The U.S. administration has responded to 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 it 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 same procedure would apply to Iran’s final group game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran’s preparation for the World Cup has been complicated by the war in the Middle East. It moved its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana on the U.S.–Mexico border shortly before the tournament began and says up to 15 team officials have been refused visas to enter the United States.

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