IRAN'S management has hit out at their treatment in the United States, with their head coach saying his team are the “most oppressed” at the World Cup while their star player has slammed their treatment as a "disaster".
The team’s build-up to the competition has been profoundly impacted by war in the country, triggered by US-Israeli strikes, with the squad forced to move their training camp to Mexico.
Due to sanctions the Iran team had to relocate their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico despite all their group stage games being in the US, with players and staff having to fly on matchdays.
The team has also faced visa problems and their ticket allocation for the World Cup was reportedly pulled just days before the tournament got underway.
Despite the obstacles they opened their World Cup campaign with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand, roared on by a passionate Iranian-American crowd.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei welcomed the fans’ support, but said it had not been matched by those responsible for managing the team’s movements in what is believed to be a strong criticism of the US authorities.
“We’ve spent so much time commuting in the air,” he said.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately.
“It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that.
“We do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven’t told us.
“Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.
“The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here. We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn’t have that. Many in the technical area had to deal with that.”
Fifa was approached for comment regarding the team’s schedule.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi described their treatment as a “disaster” and revealed Fifa president Gianni Infantino had been in the dressing room, offering to “help” the team.
Footage of Infantino published on X/Twitter sees him telling the players “you are stronger than everything”, “this is just the beginning” adding that the team were “writing history, the whole world is watching you”.
Infantino is also understood to have told the players he would do what he could to ensure more of the Iranian delegation, who did not receive visas, could travel to the USA for their remaining group games.
Taremi added: “We don’t have our president, and no one from staff, also, which is so important for us. Our manager, for example, has come here doing the job of the media, and you know everything is like a disaster for us.”
Top sports journalist Leyla Hamed, who is covering the tournament in the US, told The National last week the treatment of Iran raises “serious questions” about the US as a host which she claims has “compromised” the “fairness of the tournament”.
She said: "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.”
