Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei and two of his players publicly condemned the travel conditions imposed on their squad at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying restrictions that forced the team to fly back to their Mexico base camp within hours of Monday's 2-2 draw with New Zealand are undermining their ability to compete. Speaking in the mixed zone at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, Ghalenoei, striker Mehdi Taremi and goalscorer Mohammad Mohebbi delivered their most direct criticism yet of the logistical and political hurdles surrounding Iran's participation in the tournament.
Forced Departure and the Visa Crisis Behind It
The squad's bus left SoFi Stadium at 10:07 p.m. on Monday, roughly two hours after the final whistle, with players boarding a flight back to Tijuana shortly after 11 p.m. Iran had hoped to remain in Los Angeles for a recovery session on Tuesday, a standard element of elite tournament preparation, but were told that was not permitted. The forced turnaround is only the most visible symptom of a broader crisis. An Iranian Football Federation official confirmed that 11 support staff members had been denied U.S. visas ahead of the tournament. Ghalenoei made clear the scale of the disruption: "Our president isn't here, our media isn't here, many of our management team isn't here." It is worth noting that while searches across disparate sporting contexts - from mainstream football coverage to niche disciplines tracked by platforms offering superligan floorball odds - often highlight logistical inequalities in international competition, few cases at this level of world football have been quite so publicly and emotionally aired by a national team's own technical staff during an active tournament.
Players Speak Out, FIFA Listens - For Now
Taremi and Mohebbi remained at the mixed-zone microphone well beyond what FIFA staff appeared to want. A FIFA staffer reportedly attempted to cut the interview short on multiple occasions, but both players insisted on continuing, then spoke further with journalists after stepping away from the podium. Taremi was pointed: "It's a bad situation, and we're just tired of this situation, because from two months ago, last month, we have a lot of problems. And it's so bad, and it affects our team." When pressed on who was responsible for the travel restrictions, Taremi declined to name the United States directly but left little ambiguity: "You know where we are." Mohebbi was more blunt: "This is not fair. This is a tough atmosphere for us."
Infantino Visits the Dressing Room, But Questions Remain
FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited Iran's locker room after the match and addressed the players directly. "I know what you go through, I understand," he said. "But you are stronger than everything, and you send a strong message to the entire world." A video shared by Tasnim reporter Hatam Shiralizadeh showed Infantino listening as Ghalenoei spoke about the need for FIFA to act decisively. It was Infantino himself who, in his opening address in Mexico City, declared he would have personally driven a bus from Tehran to ensure Iran reached the tournament - a statement made in the context of genuine uncertainty about the team's participation following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Whether symbolic solidarity translates into tangible relief for the squad remains to be seen. White House World Cup Task Force chief Andrew Giuliani told CBS News on Monday that Iran's players are permitted to enter the country one day before their match and are expected to leave on match day itself. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, asked about the arrangement, said only: "The Iranian National Football Team agreed to these terms." The source of the specific Monday-night return requirement remains disputed: an Iranian federation official attributed it to a FIFA request, while the broader visa framework points toward U.S. government policy as the root cause. Ghalenoei's closing words after the match captured the mood of a squad trying to compete under conditions no other team at this World Cup faces: "They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we are not gonna stop from doing our best."