Iran soccer star Mehdi Torabi's visa had expired after a single visit to the United States for the team's World Cup opener in Los Angeles the Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) said on Tuesday. Torabi, an unused substitute in Monday's 2-2 draw with New Zealand, is an ardent supporter of the Iranian government and has links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Reuters reported.
The Iran national team are commuting from their tournament base in the Mexican border city of Tijuana for their three World Cup group-stage matches, the first two in Los Angeles and the third in Seattle.
"While multiple-entry visas were issued for the team's players to travel to the United States, Torabi's visa was valid for only one entry," an FFIRI spokesman said.
"Following the team's trip to Los Angeles for the match against New Zealand and the completion of that game, his visa has now expired.
"The Iran Football Federation has taken action to obtain a new visa for Torabi so that he can continue to accompany the national team in its upcoming matches."
Iran's next group match is against Belgium on Sunday and Torabi would need a new visa by Saturday at the latest if he is to join the squad on their trip to California.
During the 2019 anti-government protests, Torabi wore a T-shirt on the pitch during a club match reading: "The only way to save the country is to obey the leadership."
Who is Mehdi Torabi?
The 31-year-old was also a regular presence at nightly pro-government rallies in Tehran's Valiasr Square that took place after U.S. and Israeli air strikes on the Islamic Republic triggered a regional conflict in late February.
The U.S. government classifies the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would not allow anyone with links to the elite military force to enter the country with the players.
Iran's World Cup team supervisor Mahdi Mohammad Nabi was among 15 FFIRI officials who were denied visas to travel to the U.S. for the World Cup games.
This had been set to be the first World Cup in which a host nation had received a country it was at war with until a peace deal was announced barely 24 hours before Monday's match.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei said the travel chaos stemming from tensions between Iran and the U.S. had "oppressed" his players and affected their performance against New Zealand.
