Top Iranian football officials left Canada before the start of the FIFA Congress because of the behaviour of officials during immigration checks at Toronto’s international airport, Iranian media reported Wednesday.
The global football body’s gathering of member nation representatives will be held this week in Vancouver, the British Columbia city which is also hosting seven matches in the World Cup that Canada will co-host with the United States and Mexico this summer.
The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) president, secretary general and deputy secretary general “returned to Turkey on the first flight due to the inappropriate behaviour of the immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian Armed Forces”, several outlets reported, without providing further details.
In 2024, Canada designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terror group, barring its members from entering the country.
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The Iranian federation’s president Mehdi Taj is a former IRGC member.
The Iranian reports said the officials had travelled to Canada with “official visas” before turning around.
The incident underscores the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iran’s participation at the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on FIFA’s agenda since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.
Iran’s qualification has not removed hurdles tied to travel, visas and security in a tournament staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it could not comment on specific cases due to privacy but added: “IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada.”
Doubts over Iranian team’s attendance
While FIFA has insisted fixtures will proceed as scheduled, the delegation’s withdrawal deepens doubts over whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across borders during the tournament.
The officials – who had travelled to Canada to attend Thursday’s Congress in Vancouver – returned on the next available flight, according to the Tasnim report, which added that the incident involved an insult directed at one of the most decorated branches of Iran’s armed forces.
FIFA has since contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident and indicated that president Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting with them at the organisation’s headquarters, the report added. FIFA did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. A source at the FIFA Congress told Reuters FIFA had sent a representative to mediate in Toronto but their efforts were in vain.
Doubts have risen over the Iranian team’s attendance at the World Cup because of the Middle East war that began on February 28 with a massive wave of US-Israel attacks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted last week that Iran’s footballers would be welcome at the global spectacle.
But he warned that the United States may yet bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation it judged to have ties to the Revolutionary Guard, which is also designated a terrorist organisation by Washington and several other governments.
No one “from the US has told them they can’t come”, Rubio said.
‘Visa issues’
Sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the Iranian officials were also unable to attend Tuesday’s Asian Football Confederation Congress, which was also held in Vancouver, due to visa issues.
“If it’s like this in Canada where it’s supposed to be easy, how is it going to be for the World Cup in the US?” a delegate at the AFC Congress told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Concerns over security, travel restrictions and the broader geopolitical climate have prompted officials in Tehran to seek guarantees for the Iran team at the World Cup and, in some cases, explore the possibility of alternative venues for their matches in the United States.
FIFA has so far resisted any changes, reiterating that participating teams are expected to adhere to the established match schedule.
The Congress – bringing together more than 200 member associations – was already expected to focus on operational and financial questions linked to the first 48-team World Cup.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
