Iran captain slams FIFA over 'disaster World Cup' treatment

Iran national team captain Mehdi Taremi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino, branding the tournament a "disaster" and accusing football's governing body of subjecting his squad to unfair treatment. "It’s a disaster World Cup; a disaster," he told reporters following a draw with Egypt in Seattle, citing visa denials for support staff and punishing travel schedules that have disadvantaged his team.

The striker highlighted that essential logistics personnel remain stranded outside the United States due to visa restrictions. "They (FIFA) have to solve every problem here, but unfortunately, they couldn't solve since the beginning," Taremi said. The forward revealed that Infantino visited the changing room after the opener, telling the squad "it's just the beginning" despite the group stage ending imminently. "We don't have our logistic people here. They don't have a visa," he added.

Cross-border travel burden

The Iranian squad has been forced to base itself in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than Tucson, Arizona, as originally planned, compelling exhausting cross-border journeys for each match while competitors remain stationed within the host nation. "We love (the) people of Mexico. We love Tijuana. But as professional players, professional competition, it's not right," Taremi said, noting that the extra transit time leaves the team "without recovery, without nothing."

The team relocated to Tijuana in late May as US-Iran tensions escalated into open warfare on February 28, when Washington and Tel Aviv launched strikes on Iranian facilities. Unlike rival teams housed within the host nation, the Iranian delegation must cross the US-Mexico border for every fixture, a disruption that has complicated their campaign as the group stage concludes.