Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to stand up against the United States, accusing the co-hosts of terrible behaviour towards his team that caused physical and mental harm. His comments followed Iran's 1-1 draw against Egypt in Seattle on June 27, 2026, a result that left their World Cup qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
Logistical nightmare for Iran
Iran faced severe logistical challenges throughout the tournament. Several support staff members were unable to obtain visas, forcing the squad to operate without key personnel. The team was required to arrive just one day before matches and leave immediately after their conclusion on the same day. This disrupted their preparation and recovery. Iran had earlier urged FIFA to relocate their matches to Mexico after joint US-Israel strikes against Iran earlier in the year, but that request was denied. Instead, the team shifted its base camp to Tijuana, Mexico.
Speaking after the match, Ghalenoei said, as quoted by Sky Sports, "The behaviour, their behaviour (the US) towards us has been really terrible, and I hope the world will be aware of that because they did not let us come two weeks earlier, they did not let us come two days earlier before every game and all this physically and mentally really hurt us. But despite all these problems, we had a war as well, we managed to perform well."
Ghalenoei urges Infantino to act
Ghalenoei acknowledged Infantino's efforts to minimise their problems but stressed that the host nation's conduct was unacceptable. "I know Mr. Infantino, the FIFA president, has tried his best to minimise our problems as much as possible. But it was the host that wasn't very good to us, but please, I urge FIFA, do not let hosts treat players and teams the same way in future World Cups. And I hope Mr Infantino will, you know, actually stand up to such behaviour."
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi also launched a scathing attack on FIFA, describing the tournament's logistics as a "disaster." After the 1-1 draw, Taremi missed an early penalty and saw a stoppage-time winner ruled out by VAR for offside. However, his strongest criticism was reserved for the travel arrangements, requiring the team to return to Tijuana immediately after the match.
Taremi told reporters, as shared by Fars News Agency, "Yeah, we have to go back. We have always complained about these things since the beginning. It's a disaster, World Cup disaster. I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here, but unfortunately, they couldn't solve it since the beginning." He added that Infantino had visited the dressing room after the first game and promised to resolve issues, but nothing changed. "Mr Infantino came to our changing room in the first game and said it's just the beginning, but it's the group stage finish tomorrow, and we don't have our logistics people here. They don't have a visa," said Taremi.
Players question fairness of travel demands
Taremi emphasised the toll of constant travel without recovery. "How possible we always have to travel to Tijuana? We love the people of Mexico; we love Tijuana. They are so humble people, we love them. But as professional players, in professional competition, it's not right. We have to travel again to Tijuana, so without recovery, without anything, it's not fair. In our opinion, it's not fair. If it's fair for FIFA, okay, good to them. But it's not fair," he said.
Questioning the lack of assistance, Taremi said, "Who wants to help us? Who? If they want us to be out, okay, let's go out, let's get out. But that's not fair. We don't have recovery; we don't have any logistic people here to help us. What do we say? We always complain about these things, but no one helps. No one."
When asked whether consecutive VAR decisions had unfairly gone against Iran, Taremi insisted the bigger issue lay off the field. "That's about the football. Sure. But we complain about outside the football because the details are important in football, and recovery is one of the important things. Small details affect football," he said. He added, "We do our best, we always do our best. We play for our people. We want them to be happy, we want to bring the joy, we want to send them a message of peace for the people in Iran, outside Iran, for FIFA, for everyone. But there is no peace about the others to us. Who has to solve this problem for us? Who? FIFA? I don't know, USA? I don't know. Who? Just mention one name for me."
FIFA accused of broken promises
Taremi claimed FIFA failed to deliver on promises. "Infantino came in the first game and said we will solve every problem here, but actually, FIFA did nothing. Our logistics don't work here. Where is our media? You can check. No media here, no media, no kitmans, no one."
On the field, Egypt secured a historic place in the World Cup knockout stage for the first time after finishing unbeaten in Group G. Mahmoud Sabre gave the Pharaohs the lead after Mohamed Salah's effort was parried, before Ramin Rezaeian equalised for Iran after Taremi had earlier seen his penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir. Rezaeian was named Player of the Match, but Iran's late push for victory ended in frustration when a stoppage-time goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review, leaving Team Melli anxiously waiting to discover whether their World Cup journey will continue.
