EAST RUTHERFORD — Iran national team forward Mehdi Taremi revealed unfair treatment by the United States during their opening group-stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles on Monday night, calling the circumstances “a disaster” after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
While most teams can stay in the city where they played their match through the night, undergo treatment the following morning, and then leave, Iran’s squad was ordered to return to its base camp in Tijuana (Mexico) directly after the match on Monday night.
“It’s not good for us, it’s not good for the football,” Taremi said. “In the World Cup, you have to prepare good for the next game, and this has caused a lot of frustration for the players and staff. We don’t have that support. FIFA has to help us more than this.”
When asked who was forcing them to leave early, Taremi said he did not know, but went on to suggest that it was an edict of President Donald Trump’s regime rather than FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who visited Iran’s locker room and listend to their concerns.
He wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things, too,” Taremi said. “Everyone knows this. You know where we are… We just want more peace and everyone to be calm about FIFA. We are here to play football.”
Even before Iran’s war with America, which began in February, its soccer federation had run into significant roadblocks throughout the entire World Cup process, beginning with the draw back in December when they threatened to boycott the event after its president, Mehdi Taj, was among members of its delegation barred from entering the country.
While they were able to move their base camp from the United States to Mexico for this summer’s tournament, they could not move their group-stage matches. Upon trying to enter the US, 15 staff members were denied visas, which was later decreased to 11.
Taj, Iran’s soccer media officer, and some analysts, were also not permitted access into the country.
“We don’t have depth because we don’t have our media, we don’t have the president of our federation, we don’t have our vice president, no one,” Taremi said. “Even some of our staff. It’s so important for us. We don’t have any communication between FIFA and the players… Everything is a disaster, actually, for us. It’s not right.”
Iran’s manager, Amir Ghalenoei, went as far as to say that his team was “the most oppressed one” at the World Cup.
“They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best,” he said. “We don’t know why they’re returning us. It’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us… We were supposed to arrive two nights before the game, but they didn’t permit it. We were supposed to stay here [Monday night] to recover and return [Tuesday] lunchtime.”
Iran’s players did boast about their accommodations in Tijuana, however.
“I have to thank the people in Mexico,” defender Ramin Rezaeian said. “They are so nice. They have a great behavior.”
“We are comfortable there,” Taremi said. “Everyone likes us, and we are appreciative of them, too.”
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