The United States insists on travel restrictions for Iran’s World Cup team, White House officials overseeing the tournament have defended the measures and Iran’s football federation is filing a formal complaint with FIFA.Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, told Reuters on Saturday that the current plan remains in place despite Iran’s objections. Teams can only travel to the venue within 24 hours of kickoff and must return to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico immediately after each game.Iran’s football federation announced on Thursday it would lodge a complaint with FIFA after its request to travel to Los Angeles two days before Sunday’s game against Belgium was denied. The team faced logistical hurdles throughout the tournament, with captain Mehdi Taremi saying a typical short charter flight from Tijuana to Los Angeles takes five hours and includes security and immigration checks.Giuliani said the team’s training base was moved from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana before the game, which actually reduced their travel time to Los Angeles. He also noted that all players and coaches were granted visas, but some team officials were denied due to what he called “derogatory messages.”The official emphasized that although no specific threats have been identified, security issues remain a top priority.
“The most oppressed team”
Head coach Amir Gallenois was sharply critical, describing his side as “the most pressed team in the entire World Cup”. He said the latest schedule gave his team less than 16 hours to prepare for the match against Belgium, forcing them to cut their usual training time in half.“Our training time is only half of the normal training time,” he told reporters.Giuliani pointed out that the restrictions are in line with FIFA regulations, which require state teams to travel to the venue the day before the game and return after the game. Some team officials and support staff are still unable to obtain U.S. visas.Iran will play its final group match against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. Discussions about travel arrangements for this game will take place after Sunday’s game against Belgium.
