Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team was "perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup," after his side was ordered to leave the US and fly back to its training base in Tijuana only hours after opening the tournament with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday night.
"They didn't even give us time to recover," Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. "After the game today, they said to us, 'You have to leave immediately.
"It's very important for us to have time for recovery, but we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that."
He did not say who had ordered the early departure. The team had expected to stay overnight in California to allow for normal post-match recovery before being told it had to fly back immediately.
"We don't know why they are returning us, to be honest," Ghalenoei said. "I think it's very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us."
