TEHRAN.- The leaders of the Iranian Football Federation This Wednesday they canceled their participation in the FIFA Congress in vancouver, Canadafor an “insult” uttered by an immigration police officer at the Toronto airport, according to a statement from the organization collected by Iranian press agencies.
The president and general secretary of the Iranian Federation, who traveled to Canada with “official visas”, decided to “return to Türkiye on the first available flight for the inappropriate behavior of immigration agents at the airport and the insult to one of the most honorable organs of the Iranian armed forces,” reads the statement, which does not give further details.
In 2024, Canada classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group, a designation that prohibits its members from entering its territory.
The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Tajis a former member of the Revolutionary Guards. In December he had not obtained a visa from the United States to be present at the draw for the World Cup 2026held in Washington.
Canada will be, together with USA and Mexicohost of the World Cup from June 11 to July 19, while Vancouver hosts the FIFA Congress this Thursday.
The United States does not intend to exclude Iranian players from the 2026 World Cup, the Secretary of State recently indicated. Marco Rubio.
However, he expressed his reservations about the people likely to accompany the team, “some of them with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.”
FIFA’s regret
Iranfaced mainly with USA and Israel in a war conflict in Middle East that broke out on February 28, must play its World Cup Group G matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand (June 15) and Belgium (June 21) and then in Seattle against Egypt (June 26). Its base camp is expected to be located in Tucson, Arizona.
The statement from the Iranian Football Federation also indicates that after the incident at the Toronto airport it was in contact with FIFA officials, who regretted what happened.
