Coach Amir Ghalenoei says Iran is the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to their base in Mexico immediately after their opening game ended in Los Angeles.
It is the latest logistical nightmare for an Iran squad that arrived at the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington.
The US refused to issue visas for some team support staff, and provided travel documents to players only at the last minute.
And now the visa of one of their players, winger Mehdi Torabi, has expired after one game, leaving his future at the World Cup in doubt.
“They delayed our arrivals, [now] they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,” Ghalenoei said following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand. “They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”
According to Ghalenoei, his team had previously been told they would be able to remain in the United States until lunchtime the following day "to recover."
The coach said technical staff had been forced to take on managerial duties due to the absence of key personnel. “That’s why I think we are the most oppressed team in the World Cup,” he said.
Striker Mehdi Taremi also slammed his team’s treatment at the tournament as a “disaster.”
“We are just tired of this situation ... It’s so bad, and it affects our team. We just want peace.”
Elijah Just scored twice for New Zealand, but the Kiwis were pegged back by goals from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi.
Iran play Belgium in their second Group G match on Sunday in Los Angeles before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
