US refuses to ease Iran World Cup travel restrictions for Belgium match
Andrew Giuliani says Iran’s players will not be allowed to stay longer for their group matches in the US. The United States will not ease
Andrew Giuliani says Iran’s players will not be allowed to stay longer for their group matches in the US. The United States will not ease the travel restrictions on the Iranian team for their World Cup matches in Los Angeles and Seattle despite the team saying they would lodge a complaint with FIFA, the cohost nation’s top tournament official has confirmed. The US will continue to assess the Iran squad’s travel arrangements, but for now the original plan remains in place, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told the Reuters news agency on Saturday. Iran are unhappy at restrictions that mean they can only travel to venues within 24 hours of their fixtures and must depart back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, directly after each game, with coach Amir Ghalenoei suggesting his side were “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup”. The Iranian delegation left the US hours after the full-time whistle at their first World Cup match against New Zealand last week. The Group G match ended at about 8pm local time (03:00 GMT), and Iran returned to their base camp in Mexico within a few hours, prompting criticism of the US handling of their visas as the team did not get a day to recover at their hotel.
Ghalenoei said the team had expected to spend the night in California to maximise the normal recovery process after their opening game. The US faced further pushback as Iran winger Mehdi Torabi’s entry visa expired after the first game. Team officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they had secured him a new, multiple-entry visa allowing him to travel into the US for future matches. “This issue has been resolved,” the US Department of State said. The same travel protocol will be in place for Iran’s fixture against Belgium on Sunday. The Iranian team was due to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, about 24 hours before kickoff time for their match. ‘Situation is dynamic’ Giuliani, however, says the situation is fluid and they will discuss what measures will be in place for Iran’s third game against Egypt in Seattle on Friday. “The situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said in Houston. “We have a plan right now. Tomorrow afternoon [after the match against Belgium], they will take the 27-minute flight back to Tijuana. “We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle.” Giuliani defended the measures in place and said the pre-tournament change in training bases for the side from Tucson to Tijuana had shortened Iran’s travel time.
The BriefWire