The Iranian men’s soccer team is filing a formal complaint to FIFA to challenge U.S. travel restrictions that required its players to leave the country immediately after their opening World Cup match earlier this week.Iran’s soccer federation wanted its team to fly to the United States two days before its group match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday, but the group said the request was turned down despite submitting its preparation schedule for the tournament in advance. The team is based in Tijuana, Mexico, between games.“Given that the game will be played at 12 p.m. local time in Los Angeles, the football federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match,” a spokesperson for the Iranian soccer federation said Thursday.
“The aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalize preparations,” the spokesperson added. “Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied.”The Iranian team’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, complained about the U.S. travel restrictions after his players were told to leave shortly after their tied group match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday. Ghalenoei claimed he had “no idea why,” but previous reports indicate the Iranian athletes are required to leave American soil on the same day of their U.S. matches.Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said Iran already knew the team had to leave after every World Cup game. He also noted the Iranians are allowed to enter the U.S. one day before their matches.“The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match,” Giuliani told CBS News. “They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles.”After its next group match on Sunday, Iran will play Egypt in Seattle on June 26. Iran will again be required to leave the host country after that game.IRAN WORLD CUP TEAM ‘TROUBLED’ AFTER BEING ORDERED TO LEAVE ‘IMMEDIATELY’ FOLLOWING LA MATCH: ‘NO IDEA WHY’The travel restrictions are the result of the U.S.-Iran war, which is now winding down after both sides signed a memorandum of understanding this week to end the fighting.Some Iranian staffers and sports officials have been denied entry into the U.S. since the World Cup started last week. The State Department has vowed to bar anyone with direct ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering the country.
