WASHINGTON – Iran’s national soccer team, currently training in Tijuana, Mexico, will be able to enter the US the day before each of their three World Cup matches, the Department of Homeland Security said on June 9.
Media reports over the weekend had quoted the Iranian ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, as saying that Iran’s team would have to enter and leave the US the same day as they were playing, raising questions over logistics and whether it would affect team performance.
It was not the case that Iran would be forced to arrive the same day as their matches, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
“These statements are untrue,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Thanks to the generosity of President (Donald) Trump the Iranian team will be able to arrive the day before their matches.”
The ambassador, speaking to Reuters in Tijuana via an interpreter on June 8, criticised US officials for denying visas to some of the Iranian football federation staff but said that the ones that had been granted did not prevent them from staying overnight.
“Their visas don’t specify anything about them having to leave at a certain time,” he said.
After weeks of uncertainty, the US awarded visas to all the players on June 5, just 10 days before their first match.
But several members of the Iranian squad were not given visas, including “key managerial and administrative members,” according to Iran’s football federation.
They include the team manager, two team analysts, the media director and a representative of the Foreign Ministry, according to Iran’s embassy in Mexico.
Iran is due to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
The players were originally slated to train in Arizona, but that was changed after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.
Trump said in March that Iran was welcome to participate in the World Cup but that he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran’s team to stay in the US “for their own life and safety”. REUTERS
A bus carrying members of the Iranian national team arrives at Caliente Stadium in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 8 for a training session
PHOTO: AFP
