Iran officials leave Canada before FIFA Congress over airport ‘insult’: Iranian media
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Doubt has risen over the Iranian team’s attendance at the World Cup due to the war in the Middle East.
PHOTO: REUTERS
VANCOUVER – An Iranian football federation delegation, including a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said they turned back at Toronto’s main airport on April 28.
They cited their treatment by Canadian immigration, and will miss a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver on April 30 (May 1, Singapore time).
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegation members, including federation president Mehdi Taj, secretary-general Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy Hamed Momeni, turned back upon arrival despite holding valid visas.
They cited what was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials”.
The delegation was en route to Vancouver for the FIFA Congress, which is meant to bring together representatives of all 211 member associations ahead of the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
“While Mehdi Taj, president, Hedayat Mombeni, secretary-general, and Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary-general of the federation, had travelled to Toronto with official visas to attend the FIFA Congress, they returned to Turkey on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation’s armed forces,” the Iranian football federation said in a statement carried by Tasnim.
Taj is a former member of Iran’s hardline IRGC.
“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said in a statement.
“We have taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account and will continue to do so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.”
The incident underscores the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iran’s participation at the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on FIFA’s agenda since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.
Iran’s qualification has not removed hurdles tied to travel, visas and security in a tournament staged in three countries.
In 2024, Canada listed the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the World Cup, but added that players would not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to the IRGC.
While FIFA has insisted fixtures will proceed as scheduled, the delegation’s withdrawal deepens doubts over whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across borders during the tournament.
FIFA has since contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident.
It indicated that president Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting with them at the organisation’s headquarters, the Tasnim report added.
The Iranian officials were also unable to attend the April 28 Asian Football Confederation Congress, which was also held in Vancouver.
“If it’s like this in Canada where it’s supposed to be easy, how is it going to be for the World Cup in the US?” a delegate at the AFC Congress told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Concerns over security, travel restrictions and the broader geopolitical climate have prompted officials in Tehran to seek guarantees for the Iran team at the World Cup.
In some cases, they have also explored the possibility of alternative venues for their matches in the United States.
FIFA has so far resisted any changes. REUTERS
