Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) says its ticket allocation for the FIFA World Cup has been pulled just days before the tournament kicks off.
The FFIRI said the 8 per cent quota of tickets allocated to Iran had been revoked, meaning “there is no possibility to distribute tickets to fans through the Federation”, multiple Iranian news agencies said.
“This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches,” the FFIRI added in a statement.
“There is no possibility of providing even a single ticket to the national team fans through the Federation,” Fars reported, citing the Iranian football federation.
“This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organisation of the world’s biggest football event.“
Each participating federation at the World Cup receives 8 per cent of the tickets for each of its matches for allocation to fans according to its own criteria.
Iran’s team arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, early on Sunday, ahead of its three matches scheduled in the US.
Iran’s football team arrived in Tijuana on Sunday. (Reuters: Victor Medina)
Coach Amir Ghalenoei told FIFA that the team ideally would have arrived in Tijuana last week to adapt to the time difference.
“Normally, in tournaments like this, humanitarian and ethical considerations should come before technical matters, and I believe those considerations were not extended to us,” he said after arriving at Tijuana airport.
Iranian defender Ehsan Hajsafi said the team had suffered “very difficult circumstances”.
The withdrawal of the ticket allocation comes after the US awarded visas to all the Iranian players on Friday.
For months, the Iranian team had issues getting their visas approved, which happened 10 days before their first match.
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Several members of the Iranian squad were not given visas, including “key managerial and administrative members”, according to Iran’s football federation.
Iran’s ambassador in Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said 15 of the 70 members of the party who arrived in Tijuana on Sunday had not been given visas to enter the US.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment about the dispute.
An official with the US State Department said the Trump administration had issued “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff”.
The official added: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the U.S. under false pretences.”
Somali referee denied entry
FIFA announced on Tuesday that the United States had also denied entry to referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was expected to be the first Somali to officiate a World Cup match.
Somalia’s government said it had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate Mr Artan’s entry with the US and FIFA, and it was saddened by what had happened.
“His international achievements are a source of honour and pride for the Somali people,” Somalia’s sports ministry said in a statement.
The referee was named as the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) best male referee for 2025.
Mr Artan said in a statement that, despite the circumstances, he was in a positive mood and focused on the next challenges of his career.
“I would like to thank FIFA and CAF for all their support, and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.“
Without naming him, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement that a Somali national arrived at Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday and was deemed inadmissible due to vetting concerns.
“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP said.
Last year, Washington imposed a sweeping travel ban on citizens of 12 countries, including Somalia.
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