ไทย
English
中國人
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to "stand up" against the United States, following what captain Mehdi Taremi labeled a "disaster World Cup."
The ongoing military tensions between the two countries have placed Iran's squad under intense scrutiny from U.S. authorities, who have barred the team from staying within the country. Players are only permitted entry 24 hours before each match and are required to depart shortly after the final whistle. Iran has already submitted a formal complaint to FIFA over the matter.
Infantino had expressed his backing for Iran when he visited the team's locker room following their opening match this summer, yet no tangible support has materialized since.
"I know Mr. Infantino has done his best to reduce the difficulties as much as he could, but it was the host that failed to treat us properly," Ghalenoei said following Friday's 1–1 stalemate with Egypt, a result that may be sufficient for Iran to advance to the knockout rounds.
"I urge FIFA to ensure that host nations do not treat teams and players this way in the future. I hope Mr. Infantino will genuinely stand up against such conduct."
He added: "To my players and the squad, I want them to know I'm proud of every one of them. What these young men have accomplished should be recorded in history, because the host nation treated us extremely unfairly.
"Had the host country permitted us to arrive two weeks in advance, we would have been far better prepared. These were reasonable, rational requests. We would have had the opportunity to recover and be in stronger physical and mental condition; instead, they denied us that basic right.
"When you compete in a match, your body is physically drained, and jumping on a flight immediately delays your recovery. This is the third time they have done this to us — we must leave here for the airport and travel back to Tijuana, a journey of roughly three hours.
"Their treatment of us has been truly appalling, and we hope the world takes notice. They refused to let us arrive two weeks early, or even two days before each game. It has genuinely hurt us. And we were also dealing with a war. Despite all of these hardships, we have managed to perform well, and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I believe that is our greatest achievement, given all the obstacles and barriers placed in our path."
Taremi Takes Aim at Infantino
Infantino's absence of meaningful action was clearly a painful topic for Taremi, who hinted that FIFA's inaction might be part of a broader effort to push Iran out of the World Cup as early as possible.
"It's a disaster World Cup; a disaster," Taremi said bluntly. "FIFA is supposed to resolve every issue here, but unfortunately they have failed to do so from the very start. Mr. Infantino came to our dressing room after the first game against New Zealand and said, 'It's just the beginning,' but the group stage wraps up tomorrow.
"Our logistics staff aren't here — they can't get visas. How is it acceptable that we always have to travel from Tijuana? We love the people of Tijuana. We love Mexico. They are warm, humble people and we appreciate them, but as professional players in a professional tournament, this situation is simply not right.
"It's not fair. That's our view — it's not fair. Is it fair to FIFA? Fine, good for them. But it's not fair. Who is actually trying to help us? If they want us gone, then fine, let us go. But that's not fair. We have no recovery staff or logistics support. We keep raising these issues and nobody helps, nobody."
When asked directly whether he believed Iran was truly welcome at the World Cup, Taremi concluded: "We have to fight against everything here. I don't know what people want.
"From where we stand, yeah, I think they'd prefer that ... how is it even possible that we play 90 minutes and then have to travel all the way back to Tijuana?"
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
Iran currently sits in a position to advance to the knockout stages but must wait anxiously through Saturday's fixtures to confirm their place. If Ghana defeats Croatia, DR Congo fails to beat Uzbekistan, or Algeria's clash with Austria ends in a draw, Iran's progression to the next round will be secured.