US officials confirmed on Tuesday that the Iranian national team will have to leave US territory within hours of the final whistle of their group stage matches in the 2026 World Cup.
The clarification from the co-host country of the World Cup came in the wake of criticism regarding its handling of visa procedures and the Iranian national team’s stay in the United States, following the Asian team’s first match against New Zealand.
Iran drew with New Zealand in a tense Group G match in Los Angeles on Monday, following months of uncertainty over the team’s participation in the World Cup amid the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Iranian delegation left the United States a few hours after the end of the match, around 8 pm local time (03:00 GMT), and returned to their training camp in Mexico, which sparked criticism of the way the United States handled the situation, as the team did not get a day of rest and recovery at the hotel.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup task force, told the Associated Press: “We have made it clear that these are the procedures.”
Iran’s national team coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said after the match that his team had received orders to leave the United States and return to Mexico after only a few hours.
He noted that the team had planned to spend the night in California to ensure the best conditions for the usual post-game recovery process.
Other criticisms
The United States also faced further criticism after the visa of Iranian national team winger Mehdi Torabi expired following the first match.
Team officials later confirmed that they had obtained a new visa for him allowing multiple entries, which would allow him to travel to the United States to participate in the next two matches.
Giuliani said during an interview broadcast Monday evening on CBS News that some members of the support staff and officials of the Iranian team were barred from entering the United States, while all the players and coaches received entry visas.
He also explained the conditions that would allow the Iranian team to enter the United States to play its matches, saying: “The team will be allowed to enter one day before the match, i.e., the day before it. They will be asked to leave on the day the match ends, i.e., the evening of the match itself.”
When asked why some members of the support staff and team officials were denied entry, Giuliani did not go into details, but he referred to previous statements by Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the refusal to allow entry to people with direct ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
For his part, Iranian national team captain Mehdi Taremi said the team suffered from a 5-hour journey involving security procedures, during what is usually a very short trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area.
Taremi said: “I think FIFA should provide us with more assistance.”
Infantino in the dressing room
FIFA President Gianni Infantino went to the Iranian national team’s dressing room after the 2-2 draw against New Zealand in Group G on Monday.
In a brief speech, Infantino said he was aware of the difficulties the Iranian national team was facing during the World Cup, and assured the players, through an interpreter, that their performance had proven to their friends and families that they were indeed participating in the World Cup.
Infantino stressed that Iran’s players will have to make everyone proud in their next two matches against Belgium and then Egypt.
He concluded his short speech with the words, “Thank you for being here.”
