Washington, United States. Iran plans to lodge a complaint with FIFA over travel restrictions its team is facing in the United States during the World Cup, saying the measures have disrupted its preparations.
Federation announces protest
The Football Federation of Iran said on Friday that the restrictions were inconsistent with equal conditions for participating teams and could affect the team’s technical preparation.
“The Football Federation of Iran believes these restrictions are inconsistent with the principles of providing equal conditions for participating teams and may affect their technical preparation,” the federation said in a statement announcing its protest to FIFA.
Travel arrangements and visa limits
Because of uncertainty over visas and the conflict with the United States, the Iranian team is commuting from its tournament base in co-host Mexico for its three group matches in the United States.
U.S. authorities require the team to enter within 24 hours of a match and leave the same day, according to the federation.
Coach cites disruption
Team coach Amir Ghalenoei said Iran were the “most oppressed” team in the tournament and said the travel arrangements had prejudiced the team in Monday’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
“Under the coaching staff’s plan, the national team needed to travel to the host city two days before each match in order to achieve optimal technical and physical condition, and then return to their base the day after the match,” the federation said.
“However, for the opening match against New Zealand, this request was not approved.”
Upcoming matches and responses
Iran will face Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles and will conclude its Group G fixtures against Egypt on June 27 in Seattle.
Neither FIFA nor the U.S. Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.