Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei criticised World Cup travel restrictions after his team was ordered out of the US following New Zealand match.
- +Iran Coach Slams Travel Ordeal As Team Forced Out Of US After New Zealand Draw
- +“After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has described his side as “perhaps the most repressed team in the whole World Cup” after revealing that the team had been ordered to leave Los Angeles immediately following their opening match and return to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico.
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has described his side as “perhaps the most repressed team in the whole World Cup” after revealing that the team had been ordered to leave Los Angeles immediately following their opening match and return to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico.
The comments came after Iran played out a 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday at SoFi Stadium in a politically charged Group G opener, following what has been one of the most challenging build-ups experienced by any team at the tournament.
Addressing reporters after the match, Ghalenoei expressed frustration over last-minute changes to the team’s travel arrangements, saying the repeated disruptions had severely affected the players’ recovery.
“We spent so much time in the air commuting, they didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter.
“After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’
“It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, but we’ve been told to return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”
He added: “I think perhaps our team is the most repressed team in the whole World Cup.”
Iran’s preparations for the tournament had already been complicated by the relocation of their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, weeks before the competition began, despite all three of their Group G fixtures being scheduled in the United States.
Under the original plan, the team was expected to travel into the U.S. two days before each match and return to Mexico the day after. However, Iran travelled to Los Angeles on Sunday before being instructed to leave immediately after Monday’s game.
Ghalenoei did not specify who had ordered the team’s departure. However, captain Mehdi Taremi disclosed that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had visited the squad in the dressing room following the match.
“For sure, he wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things, too. Everyone knows it,” Taremi said.
“I don’t need to mention that because you know where we are.
“I think FIFA has to help us more than this. Let’s see what happens in the future.”
Taremi also voiced disappointment that Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and other members of the team’s support staff had been unable to travel to the United States.
“Everything is a disaster for us,” the striker said.
Iran became the first nation to participate in a World Cup hosted by a country with which it was effectively at war, after months of geopolitical tensions cast doubt over the team’s involvement in the tournament.
The decision to stage Iran’s opening fixture in the Los Angeles area further heightened sensitivities, with the city home to the largest Iranian diaspora community outside Iran, many of whom emigrated following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
When the Iranian national anthem was played before kick-off, it was met with a mixture of audible jeers and loud cheers from the crowd. But once the match got underway, the Iranian team enjoyed passionate backing from the 70,108 spectators inside SoFi Stadium.
“There were many Iranians here. They believe in different political affiliations, different beliefs, but they all wholeheartedly encouraged us, and I think that’s a victory for all of us,” Ghalenoei said.
Iran supporters celebrated goals from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi by waving both pre- and post-revolutionary Iranian flags.
The pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flags were widely visible inside the stadium despite FIFA’s ban on the symbol at World Cup venues, a decision that was upheld during an emergency hearing on the morning of the match.
Mohebbi thanked the Iranian community in Los Angeles for their support.
“I wanted to say thank you to the Iranians who live in Los Angeles; they make a great atmosphere in the game,” he said.
Iran will next face European heavyweights Belgium in Inglewood on Sunday before concluding their group-stage campaign against Egypt, led by Mohamed Salah, in Seattle on June 26.
With Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand all drawing their opening fixtures on Monday, Group G remains finely poised, with each team sitting on one point ahead of the second round of matches.
