A LEADING sports journalist has said the US has made the World Cup “inherently unfair” through its treatment of the Iranian team and fans.
Iran qualified for the World Cup in March 2025, almost a year before the US and Israel launched attacks on the country.
The team, staff, and fans have faced endless challenges ever since in the run-up to the tournament. US visas were only approved last week, despite Iran being one of the first teams to secure their place in the finals.
The country's World Cup group-stage ticket allocation was also reportedly revoked just days before the tournament. The Iranian Football Federation said on Monday it had already begun selling tickets but could no longer provide them to fans, many of whom had already made travel arrangements.
That came after Iran were forced to move their training base from Tucson, Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana because the US was unwilling to host them.
Under the conditions of their visas, they will have to fly in and out of the US on matchday for each of their three group games against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt, making recovery and preparation more challenging than for other sides in the tournament.
At the weekend, 15 administrative officials from Iran were also reportedly denied entry.
Fifa has additionally banned the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag inside World Cup stadiums, classifying it as a political symbol.
Top sports journalist Leyla Hamed, who will be covering the tournament in the US, has told The National the treatment of Iran raises “serious questions” about the US as a host which she claims has “compromised” the “fairness of the tournament”.
Asked if the US Government’s treatment of Iran had made the tournament inherently unfair, she said: “Yes, I think the fairness of the tournament has already been compromised.
"Fairness is not only about what happens during the 90 minutes. It is also about preparation, travel, recovery, staff access, media access, fan presence, and the psychological environment around the team.
“Iran have had uncertainty over visas until days before their opening match. Several staff members have reportedly been denied access. Their camp had to be moved to Mexico. Their supporters have faced major barriers, including the reported withdrawal of their official ticket allocation. These are not normal tournament conditions.
“If one team is forced to prepare under restrictions that other teams are not facing, then the playing field is not equal.”
This week a top African referee due to officiate at the tournament was also barred from entering the US.
Omar Artan, who was named Africa’s referee of the year in 2025, was set to be the first Somali to referee at a World Cup finals, but was denied entry at Miami International Airport despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single-entry US visa.
Fifa said it “is not involved in host country immigration processes”.
Hamed said it was “not enough” for Fifa to say this and called for more consistency.
She said if Fifa believes national teams can face sporting consequences because of the actions of states, that rule “has to apply universally”.
“It cannot be applied to Russia, ignored with Israel, and then used informally against Iran through visas, border restrictions and fan exclusion. That is not principled accountability. That is selective politics,” she said.
She went on: “Fifa speaks constantly about inclusion, neutrality and football belonging to everyone, but when a host country’s politics interfere with who can travel, who can work, who can support their team and how a national side prepares, Fifa suddenly becomes very quiet.
“Fifa will say it is not involved in individual US visa decisions, and technically that may be true. But that answer is not enough. It cannot present itself as a powerless outsider when it has been directly involved in the White House Task Force created to coordinate this World Cup.
“Fifa has already shown, through Russia, that it is willing to take political decisions when it wants to. Many of us have asked for the same consistency with Israel because of what Palestinians have endured. But when the United States is involved, or when Israel is involved, Fifa suddenly discovers neutrality.”
This will be the first iteration of the World Cup where a host nation will receive the team of a country it is at war with.
It remains a possibility the US team could face Iran in the knockout stages should both sides finish second in their respective groups.
Hamed said: “A host country is supposed to guarantee equal access, equal treatment and a neutral environment for every team that has qualified. Iran qualified through football, not through diplomacy, and their players, staff and supporters should not be forced to compete under additional political and logistical obstacles.”
Asked about her fears going forward for the tournament, she said: “My biggest fear is that this becomes normalised. That we spend the next month talking not only about football, but about visas, border control, security profiling, fans being denied entry, journalists being unable to travel, and teams from certain regions being treated differently.
“I also fear that Fifa will only react when the damage is already impossible to ignore. This tournament has not even properly started and already the atmosphere around it feels hostile for many people. If that continues, this World Cup may be remembered less for the football and more for the way politics, discrimination and border regimes were allowed to dominate the biggest sporting event in the world.
“For me, the principle is simple: if football is going to take moral positions, then take them consistently. If states can be sanctioned for war, occupation or grave violations of international law, then no state should be exempt because it is powerful, Western or politically protected.
“And if a country is chosen to host the World Cup, it must guarantee equal conditions for every qualified team not just the teams it has friendly relations with.”
