Coach Amir Ghalenoei said that Iran is the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were informed that they must travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening game ended in Los Angeles late Monday.
“They delayed our arrivals; they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,” Ghalenoei told journalists following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
Ghalenoei stated, “he had not received any explanation for the suddenly changed departure, but his team had previously expected to be able to remain in the United States until Tuesday lunchtime.”
“They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best,” he added.
Iran has arrived at the tournament under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row, after the US, in military conflict with Iran for months, refused to issue visas for some team support staff.
They played their opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday, just a day after a peace deal between the US and Iran was announced, bringing an ‘immediate and permanent’ end to military operations on all fronts.
The team was originally intending to base its training camp in Tucson, Arizona, but moved it at the 11th hour to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa and logistical issues.
Iran’s star striker Mehdi Taremi also slammed his team’s treatment at the tournament as a ‘disaster’ after the match.
“It’s a lot of stress for the players and staff and everyone, but we don’t have that support, and I think FIFA has to help us more than this,” he told reporters.
He further added, “Everything is like disaster, actually, for us.”
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