Iran’s nationwide soccer staff pose on the pitch earlier than a pleasant match with Costa Rica, in Antalya, southern Turkiye, on March 31, 2026. — AFP
Iranian FA (FFIRI) chief Mehdi Taj stated that FIfa should assure that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will not be insulted by the USA if the nationwide staff is to journey to the nation to play on the World Cup in June.
An FFIRI delegation, together with Taj, turned again from the Canadian border final week due to what they stated was disrespectful remedy by the hands of immigration officers as they tried to attend the Fifa Congress in Vancouver.
Taj stated the choice to return residence had been their very own selection however Canada’s immigration minister later confirmed to parliament that the FFIRI president’s visa had been cancelled whereas he was within the air due to his hyperlinks to the IRGC.
Canada listed the IRGC, an elite army power in Iran, as a “terrorist entity” in 2024, 5 years after the US did the identical.
Fifa Secretary-Common Mattias Grafstrom despatched a letter expressing remorse on the “inconvenience and disappointment” the Iranians had skilled in Canada and alluring FFIRI to Zurich on Might 20 for a gathering about their World Cup preparations.
Taj informed state broadcaster IRIB on Tuesday that he could be searching for assurances from the governing physique in regards to the remedy of the Iranian delegation within the US.
“We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system — especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he stated on the sidelines of a pro-government night time rally in Tehran.
“This is something they must pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and the responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what happened in Canada will not happen again.”
‘Our host is Fifa’
The US, Canada and Mexico are co-hosting the June 11 to July 19 World Cup with Iran scheduled to play two group video games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated final week Washington had no objections to Iranian gamers collaborating within the event however nobody with ties to the IRGC could be admitted to the nation.
Taj, who served as a high-ranking official with the IRGC in Isfahan Province earlier than transferring into soccer administration, stated something wanting cast-iron ensures might consequence within the Iranian delegation turning again on the US border.
“We are going to the World Cup, for which we qualified, and our host is FIFA — not Mr Trump or America,” he added.
“If they accept hosting us, then they must also accept that they must not insult our military institutions in any way.
“As a result of in the event that they do, then naturally it might create the identical type of state of affairs that occurred in Canada, the place there was a risk we’d need to return.
“So there must be this kind of guarantee so that we can go with peace of mind.”
Iran’s participation within the World Cup has been in query for the reason that US and Israel launched air strikes on the Islamic Republic in late February.
With Iranian top-flight soccer suspended, the home-based gamers have been in a coaching camp in Tehran getting ready for the event.
Taj stated the FFIRI had been hoping to arrange at the very least one pleasant with a “very good team” in neighbouring Turkiye, the place Iran performed matches towards Nigeria and Costa Rica in late March.
