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Iran’s football federation says it will file an official complaint with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) over what it described as travel restrictions imposed on the national team during the World Cup in North America.
The federation said its request to travel from its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles two days before Sunday’s Group match against Belgium was rejected by tournament organisers.
According to a federation spokesman, Iran had submitted its tournament preparation schedule well in advance and requested early travel to allow players to adapt to local conditions, complete their final training session and conclude preparations ahead of the midday kick-off in Los Angeles.
“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 organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” the spokesman said.
“Given that the game will be played at 12:00 pm local time in Los Angeles (1900 GMT), 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 request was denied despite the sporting reasons provided, adding that the federation would formally express its dissatisfaction and pursue the matter through FIFA’s official channels.
“Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied,” the federation spokesman added.
“The federation will formally express its dissatisfaction and lodge an official complaint with FIFA through the appropriate channels.”
The latest dispute comes after Iranian officials also criticised arrangements surrounding the team’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand, claiming the squad was required to leave Los Angeles on the night of the game following a 2-2 draw.
The United States government has rejected suggestions that the restrictions were imposed without notice.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said on Monday that Iran had been informed beforehand that players would be permitted to enter the United States only one day before each match and would be required to depart on the same day the fixture ended.
“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.”
He said the same arrangement would apply to Iran’s final group-stage game against Egypt in Seattle later this month.
Iran has faced several logistical challenges ahead of the tournament following the recent conflict in the Middle East.
The team moved its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana shortly before the competition began and has also claimed that up to 15 members of its delegation were denied US visas.
