Iraq World Cup striker Aymen Hussein questioned for hours at US airport before entry, source says

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s World Cup striker Aymen Hussein was held and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in the US after arriving with the squad early on June 6, an Iraqi sporting official said.

The 30-year-old was finally allowed in. But the team’s photographer was barred from entering the US, said the official, who works for the Iraqi Olympic Committee but has close contacts with the team.

There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi Football Association or from Hussein, a talismanic figure who scored the goal that secured the team’s qualification for the Finals.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the reported questioning that was also covered by the Iraqi media.

Fans came out in the early hours of the morning to greet the Iraq squad at the airport, holding flags and asking players to pose for pictures less than a week before the start of the tournament, video on social media showed.

Hussein’s phone was inspected after he arrived, the Iraqi official said.

“National team photographer Talal Salah was held for more than 10 hours, underwent similar phone checks and was ultimately denied entry into the United States,” the official added.

Iraq are returning to the World Cup for the first time since making their debut 40 years ago.

Hussein leads a potent front line that also features Ipswich Town’s Ali Al-Hamadi and talented youngsters Ali Jassim and Youssef Amyn.

Iraq face France, Senegal and Norway in Group I. The tournament being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico gets under way on June 11.

Meanwhile, the Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) is accusing the US of “vindictive behaviour” regarding the refusal of visas for managerial and administrative members of its World Cup travelling party.

The FFIRI said 14 officials and staff have been refused visas before their two upcoming matches in Inglewood, California and one in Seattle. The list includes the federation’s vice-president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi and secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini.

It was not immediately known whether federation president Mehdi Taj was issued a visa.

Tensions have been high between the US and Iran since the war broke out in February.

The feud led to Iran moving their training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico. The latter city is just across the US border from San Diego.

According to the FFIRI, the visa denials have “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination”.

The Iran squad have been preparing for the World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, and were set to fly to Mexico on June 6. The team said they received their visas from the Mexico consulate in Antalya.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier in the week that the Iranian travelling party would be watched closely for people with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Many” Iranian and African journalists have been denied the necessary visas to cover the World Cup in the US, according to the International Sports Press Association.

The association sent a letter on June 5 to Bryan Swanson, FIFA’s director of media relations, and Jochen Steinhoff, the football governing body’s head of media operations and services.

“We find ourselves facing a longstanding and unacceptable problem for us journalists: the denial of entry visas to regularly accredited colleagues,” the press association’s president Gianni Merlo wrote, per The Athletic.

“There are many cases: Iranian colleagues, African colleagues, some of whom have been given single entries, so if their team goes to play in Canada or Mexico and they follow it, they can no longer return to the States. The cases are countless and, I repeat, unacceptable.” REUTERS