Iran to lodge complaint with FIFA over World Cup 2026 travel restrictions

Team’s complaint comes amid the denial of their request to fly to the United States two days before their next match.Iran’s 2026 World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA claiming they are being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament in North America, the Iranian football federation spokesperson said on Thursday.“Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” the spokesperson said, according to AFP news agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Football upstages politics as Iranians rally behind their team at World Cuplist 2 of 3Iran, New Zealand share spoils in politically-charged World Cup matchlist 3 of 3Iran’s Ghalenoei, Taremi decry US treatment upon arrival for World Cup matchend of listIran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before their next group match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday. But the Iranian federation claims its request was turned down.Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand in their opening World Cup match on Monday in Los Angeles [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]“Given that the game will be played at 12pm local time in Los Angeles, the football federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match,” the spokesman said.“The aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalise preparations.“Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied.”After Iran’s first World Cup game on Monday – in which they drew 2-2 with New Zealand in a politically charged encounter – US officials said that the team will have to leave the country within hours of the full-time whistle at their World Cup group games in Los Angeles and Seattle.