Bengaluru: Iran plans to lodge a complaint with world football governing body FIFA over travel restrictions imposed by the United States during the World Cup.
Due to uncertainty over visas and the conflict with the U.S., the Iranian team is commuting from its tournament base in co-host Mexico for all three group-stage matches in the United States. U.S. authorities require the team to enter within 24 hours of a match and leave the same day, leading coach Amir Ghalenoei to say Iran were the "most oppressed" team in the tournament.
Coach Ghalenoei said the disruption had affected his team in their 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
According to the federation, the coaching staff had planned for the national team to travel to the host city two days before each match to achieve optimal technical and physical condition before returning to its base the day after the match. However, it said the request was not approved for the opening match against New Zealand.
"The Football Federation of Iran believes these restrictions are inconsistent with the principles of providing equal conditions for participating teams and may affect their technical preparation," the federation said in a statement on Friday announcing its protest to FIFA.
FIFA did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House World Cup Task Force, told The Telegraph that he would be open to renegotiating the terms of Iran's entry into the United States and that Washington could consider allowing the team to stay longer around its matches.
"Look, everything is dynamic, things can be discussed on this and we certainly want to create competitive fair play on the field, that's why every coach on the team has got their visa, has the opportunity to come in," he said in Seattle ahead of the United States' match against Australia.
"The president wants to make sure this tournament strikes a competitive balance, while also making sure bad actors don't get into the country. We've done that, with a month to go."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the measures were safety precautions agreed with Iran, which faces Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles and will conclude its Group G fixtures against Egypt on June 27 in Seattle.
"The team will be allowed to come in match day minus one, so the day before the match. They'll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match," a department spokesperson said in response to an email query from Reuters.
"Again, the President wants to make sure that we're talking about what actually happens on the pitch. A lot of that is making sure that things are safe and secure, not just around the stadiums, but around base camps and training sites."
