World Cup 2026: Iran to lodge complaint to Fifa over travel restrictions

Iran’s involvement in the World Cup has been plagued with uncertainty, linked to the war in the Middle East and related security concerns.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino visited the Iran team in the dressing room following the game against New Zealand as tensions continue.

Multiple “integral” members of their backroom staff were denied entry visas for the US while the FFIRI called on Fifa to “uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations” after their allocation of tickets was revoked on the eve of the tournament.

“The Iranian national football team agreed to these terms,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the BBC when asked for a response to Ghalenoei’s comments.

Iran, who switched their base for the World Cup from Arizona in the US to Tijuana in Mexico amid the conflict in the Middle East, have two group games remaining and both are in the US.

They face Belgium in Los Angeles on 21 June (20:00 BST) and Egypt in Seattle on 27 June (04:00 BST).

Iran said they “needed to arrive in each host city two days before every match and return to its base camp the day after the game in order to achieve optimal technical and physical preparation” but “this request was not approved” for their game against New Zealand.

“The same situation has now been repeated ahead of Iran’s second match against Belgium,” added the FFIRI.

“Given that the game will be played at 12:00pm 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 aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalise preparations.

“Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied.”

The presidents of the US and Iran have signed an initial peace deal aiming to end the war but Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Fifa Task Force, said that Iran knew the situation they faced when it came to their matches.

“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.”