Iran to File FIFA Complaint Over World Cup Travel Curbs

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s national football team will file a formal complaint with FIFA over continued travel restrictions during the North America World Cup, a federation spokesman said Thursday.

According to the federation, 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.

Meanwhile, Iran had requested to fly from its base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days ahead of its next match, against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday. The federation said the request was turned down.

"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 spokesman said.

"The aim was to provide sufficient time for 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," he added.

In addition, Iran said World Cup preparations have been disrupted by repeated travel and security issues before and after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand, including long delays, forced returns to Tijuana, and denied US entry for officials and media.

For his part, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called his side the “most oppressed” at the World Cup after travel disruptions, saying the team faced forced early departures, recovery delays, and repeated obstacles since arriving, despite FIFA rules guaranteeing entry for all participating teams.