Iran captain Mehdi Taremi has questioned whether his team is truly welcome at the FIFA World Cup, accusing organisers of subjecting the squad to logistical challenges that have disrupted their preparations throughout the tournament.
Taremi voiced his frustration after Iran’s 1-1 draw with Egypt in their Group G clash in Seattle on Friday, a result that left the team on the verge of securing a place in the knockout stage.
The striker endured a disappointing outing, missing an early penalty and seeing a header crash against the crossbar. Iran also thought they had scored a late winner that would have sealed qualification, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The match was also overshadowed by geopolitical tensions, with some spectators waving Iran’s pre-revolution flag and booing the country’s national anthem amid heightened regional tensions following recent military incidents.
Iran have faced logistical difficulties throughout the tournament, repeatedly travelling from their team base in Mexico to the United States for their group-stage matches, despite organisers providing some flexibility to their travel schedule.
Taremi described the situation as unfair, calling it a “logistical disaster” and urging FIFA to intervene.
“FIFA has to solve all the problems here, but unfortunately they haven’t been able to stop this from the beginning,” Taremi told reporters.
He also claimed FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously assured the team that the issues would be addressed, but the travel difficulties persisted throughout the group stage.
“We still have to travel back and forth to Tijuana. We love Mexico, we love Tijuana, but as professional players in a professional tournament, this isn’t right,” he said.
Taremi went on to question whether Iran’s participation in the tournament was genuinely welcomed.
“Who is going to help us? If they want us out, then we might as well leave. But this isn’t fair,” he said.
Iran remain in contention for a place in the Round of 32, with their qualification depending on the outcome of other Group G fixtures.
FIFA has yet to issue an official response to Taremi’s allegations.
