Iranian national team coach Amir Ghalenoei said his squad was required to travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening FIFA World Cup match, while visa denials and ticket disputes kept officials, media staff, and many supporters away.
Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles ended in a 2-2 draw, but the louder dispute unfolded off the pitch, when the Iranian team was ordered to leave the United States and return to their base in Tijuana, Mexico immediately after the full-time whistle.
Ghalenoei said the order denied his players basic recovery time after a match in which Iran came back twice after falling behind, with goals from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi cancelling out two strikes by New Zealand’s Elijah Just at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said after the game, noting that the team had expected to spend the night in California and return to Mexico the following day.
In light of the ongoing US–Israeli war on Iran, the dispute on Monday follows weeks of uncertainty around the team’s participation in a tournament co-hosted by one of its aggressors. Iran had originally planned to be based in Tucson, Arizona, before having to relocate its camp across the border to Tijuana amid visa concerns and political tensions surrounding its US-hosted group matches.
Iranian officials had earlier described the visa conditions as effectively requiring the team to enter and leave the US around matchdays. US authorities later disputed that account, saying Iran’s players could arrive the day before each match. But after the draw with New Zealand, Ghalenoei said Iran had still not been allowed to follow its planned schedule.
“It seems like others are doing the planning for us,” he said. “We were supposed to arrive two nights before the game, and we were not permitted. We were supposed to stay tonight and return by lunchtime tomorrow, but I have no idea why and they haven’t told us.”
The restrictions have not been limited to travel logistics. Eleven members of Iran’s World Cup delegation were unable to enter the US after a partial appeal process left several senior figures without visas. Those denied entry included Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj, a federation vice president, two administrators involved in daily operations, a media officer, and a security officer.
Ghalenoei said the team had been forced to take on duties normally handled by absent staff, including support around substitutions and technical-area operations.
“Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup,” he said. “The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here.”
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi described the treatment as a “disaster” and said FIFA needed to do more to support the squad. Taremi added that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had visited the dressing room after the match and heard the players’ concerns directly.
Footage showed Infantino telling the players and backroom staff that they were “writing history” and that “the whole world is watching you,” before adding: “You are stronger than everything.”
The off-field dispute followed a separate row over supporters. Days before the tournament began, Iran’s federation said its official ticket allocation for all three US-based group games had been withdrawn, leaving it “unable to provide even a single ticket” to national team supporters.
The federation said the move came after it had already begun the sales process for matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt.
Iran will face Belgium in Los Angeles next on June 21, before playing Egypt in Seattle on June 26, with the team remaining based in Mexico between fixtures.
Iran were not the only side to face such disturbances around US-hosted games. Uruguay arrived in Miami with less than 24 hours to spare before their World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia, after a delay caused by an airline error in Mexico, according to FIFA.
On matchday, Uruguay’s delegation were also subjected to a security inspection involving sniffer dogs, while visibly frustrated players were made to wait as luggage and equipment were checked near the team bus.
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia eventually drew 1-1, with Maxi Araújo scoring an 80th-minute equalizer after Abdulelah Al-Amri had put Saudi Arabia in the lead before halftime.
The inspection of Uruguay’s squad followed similar heavy-handed treatment by US authorities of other teams. Earlier in June, Senegal were subjected to security checks on arrival, while Uzbekistan’s delegation faced security screening and sniffer-dog inspections before a warm-up match in New York.
Teams faced difficulties before the tournament even began. Iraqi captain Aymen Hussein was held for nearly seven hours by US immigration at Chicago O’Hare Airport, and the team’s photographer was denied entry entirely, as Al Manassa reported.
Group G remains entirely deadlocked following the first matchday, as Belgium and Egypt also played out a draw. Iran must now navigate another border-crossing ahead of their match against Belgium.
