Iran accused the United States this Saturday of “discriminatory treatment” after several members of the country’s delegation did not obtain visas to travel to the North American Football World Cup (June 11-July 19).
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In the context of the war in the Middle East, Iran’s participation in the World Cup came into question and the processing of visas for its delegation was delayed to the point that they moved their base camp from the United States to Mexico.
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On the eve, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, announced that visas had been granted to the footballers and “necessary support staff” to enter the North American country, where Iran is scheduled to play its three group stage matches.
“Why don’t they say that visas were denied to a large part of the management and executive staff, technical advisors and other people who are an integral part of any national football team?”, the Iranian embassy in Turkey responded on social network X.
In its message, the diplomatic mission denounced that “discriminatory treatment” against its team had been taken “to its highest level”.
According to several Iranian media outlets, including the sports website Varzesh3, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has not obtained a visa.
A special envoy from state television to Turkey noted that 15 “members of the administrative and management team” have not received their visas.
The Iranian national team begins its World Cup journey this Saturday, with a flight from Antalya (southern Turkey). After a stopover in Spain, they will travel to Mexico, where they are expected to arrive at 7:30 GMT on Sunday, a team spokesperson explained this week.
Iran was one of the first teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but its participation has been in serious doubt in recent months since the start of the offensive by Israel and the United States against that country on February 28.
Tijuana, next destination
Doubts about the granting of visas led to a change of base camp, initially planned for Tucson (Arizona, United States) and finally moved to Tijuana, Mexico, near the US border.
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The Iranian team is scheduled to debut in the tournament on June 15 in Los Angeles, a city that will also host the match against Belgium six days later, on the 21st. The group stage will conclude on June 26 against Egypt in Seattle.
During their preparation in Turkey, Iran has played two friendly matches and won both, first 3-1 against Gambia on May 29 and then 2-0 against Mali on Thursday, June 4.
Hours after confirming that his country would allow Iranian footballers to enter, the United States announced new attacks against that country, despite the ceasefire theoretically in force since April 8.
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