FIFA has canceled the ticket allocation for Iran fans for the team’s three World Cup matches in the United States, according to a statement from the national football federation released on Tuesday.
Each of the 48 participating teams is supposed to receive 8% of the stadium’s capacity in tickets, resulting in thousands of tickets available for each match.
Just days before Iran kicks off their World Cup journey on June 15 at the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand, the federation announced, as reported by semi-official news outlets, that it could not provide any tickets for its supporters.
FIFA has been contacted for a response.
This development intensifies the tensions among Iranian football, FIFA, and the tournament’s co-host, the U.S., which began military actions against Iran on February 28.
– Iran has arrived in Mexico ahead of the World Cup; defender criticizes FIFA over visa issues
The Iranian team is currently training in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than Tucson, Arizona, as initially planned.
Additionally, some officials from the federation have reportedly been denied visas to enter the U.S., where Iran will face Belgium on June 21 and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
Typically, federations distribute their ticket allocations to their most devoted fans who attend games both at home and abroad.
However, Iranian residents have been subject to a travel ban imposed by the U.S. government since last year, making it unlikely for them to secure entry visas for the World Cup. It’s also unclear how many tickets from Iran’s allocation were sold to the diaspora community since the tournament draw in December.
Nonetheless, FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously stated in 2017, when U.S. soccer officials were preparing their co-hosting bid with Canada and Mexico, that fans should have access to the tournament.
“It’s clear that for FIFA competitions, any team, including their supporters and officials, must have access to the host country; otherwise, there will be no World Cup,” Infantino emphasized nine years ago. “This is obvious.”
A FIFA-appointed match referee from Somalia was denied entry to the U.S. in Miami over the weekend. He has since been ruled ineligible to participate in the upcoming 104-match tournament, which kicks off on Thursday.