The captain of the Iranian National Football Team has criticised FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, over their handling of football's biggest tournament, the World Cup, calling the treatment his team has been subjected to "unfair."
“It’s a disaster World Cup; a disaster,” Mehdi Taremi told reporters after a third group stage draw with Egypt on early Saturday, lamenting that FIFA has been unable to solve the problems they have faced since the start of the tournament on June 11.
"They (FIFA) have to solve every problem here, but unfortunately, they couldn't solve it since the beginning."
Taremi added, ‘Mr Infantino came to our changing room after the first game, and he said, "It's just the beginning," but the group stage finishes tomorrow. And we don't have our logistics team here.’
"They don't have a visa."
Many of the Iranian team’s critical support staff were denied visas, while teams from other countries have had their full support staff on hand.
Travelling extra hours
Taremi expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that, after the match against Egypt, he and his teammates had to travel from Seattle, a city in the US Pacific Northwest, to Tijuana, Mexico, an extra journey of several hours that other teams did not have to make.
The squad had originally planned to base itself during the tournament in Tucson, in the US Southwestern state of Arizona, but relocated to Mexico in late May as the tensions between the US and Iran continued in the Middle East.
The Iran squad and its staff have repeatedly said that they have faced difficulties entering and exiting the United States for matches.
"We love the people of Mexico. We love Tijuana. But as professional players, professional competition is not right,” said Tarem.
Unlike other teams, Iran’s team has to travel extra hours, leaving them with no time to rest. “Without recovery, without anything, it's not fair,” he said.
The conflict between the US and Iran erupted on February 28 after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering a series of retaliatory attacks by Tehran.
