The federation and the Iranian government filed a complaint with FIFA that would apply to any match in which political slogans or incidents related to the national symbols of the country are recorded
Hours before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the participation of the Iraniannational team has become embroiled in a new controversy. The sports authorities of the Asian country warned that the team could withdraw from matches if political demonstrations are recorded in the stands or situations they consider offensive to their national symbols.
The warning was made by Ahmad Donyamali, Iran's Minister of Sports, who stated that the issue has already been raised with FIFA. "We have informed FIFA that the team officials would leave the match as soon as we heard political slogans in the stadiums", he affirmed in statements to the local portal Varzesh3.
Ahmad Donyamali assured that Iran would withdraw from its matches if there are protests against it or situations that they consider offensive to their national symbols
The official also noted that the delegation would react in the same way if fans were prevented from entering with the official Iranian flag or if the use of old national emblems was promoted. "The team would also leave the field in cases where fans are not allowed to bring the official flag of the country to the stadiums, and not the old Persian flag", he stated.
This situation arises in a context marked by diplomatic and military tensions between Iran and the United States, one of the three countries organizing the tournament. In fact, the preparation of the Persians has been affected by various logistical restrictions in the weeks leading up to the event that forced them to move their base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico.
One of the main issues was related to the issuance of visas for members of the delegation. U.S. authorities confirmed that some of the personnel linked to the national team did not receive authorization to enter the country. From Iran, they interpreted the measure as discriminatory treatment and reported obstacles to developing their participation in the World Cup normally.
Some members of the Iranian coaching staff had issues with their visa
Regarding this situation, Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House task force for the World Cup, stated: "The entire Iranian coaching staff will come to the country. There are some members of the Iranian delegation who will not come, and for well-founded reasons. I cannot go into specific details about it, but, as you can imagine, there are people who claim to be coaches when they may not be".
The Iranian national team will debut in Group G next Tuesday, June 16 against New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. They will then face Belgium on Sunday, June 21 at the same venue and will close the first phase against Egypt on Saturday, June 27 at Lumen Field Stadium in Seattle. It is worth noting that the city where their first two matches will be played has a significant community of Iranian immigrants and could become a focal point for demonstrations related to the political situation in their country.
