Iranian head coach Amir Ghalenoei has said that his team was told to leave Los Angeles immediately after their 2-2 draw with New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on Monday, denying the squad any recovery time in the city.
“After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately,'” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, but we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that,” he said.
The team had expected to stay overnight in Los Angeles and return to their Tijuana base the following afternoon. Instead, they were put on a plane the same night. Ghalenoei did not name the person who gave the instructions.
“We don’t know why they are asking us to return, to be honest,” he said. “I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us. I think our team is perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup.”
Captain Mehdi Taremi said that the difficulties in traveling went beyond Monday night. The squad endured five hours of travel and security checks for what is normally a short trip into the US. Iran’s football federation president Mehdi Taj, coaching support staff, and both media officers were among those denied US visas ahead of the tournament.
At the post-match press conference, a stand-in analyst served as media aide for Taremi and midfielder Mohammad Mohebi. A FIFA official repeatedly tried to cut the session short as both players continued speaking.
“Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us,” Taremi said. “I think FIFA has to help us more than this,” he added.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the Iran dressing room after the match.
A video shared online showed him telling the squad they were “stronger than everything” and had “united the whole stadium.”
Taremi acknowledged the visit but was measured about its impact. “For sure, he wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things, too. Everyone knows it,” he said. “I don’t need to mention that because you know where we are,” he added.
Iran had moved their training base to Tijuana before the tournament to avoid US immigration complications following the outbreak of the US-Israel war against Iran on February 28.
Iran ultimately decided to compete after FIFA rejected their request to move their group stage games out of the US. Their remaining Group G fixtures are against Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
