Iranian supporters will be locked out of the World Cup after the country’s football federation said its ticket allocation for the group stage had been revoked just days before the tournament begins.
The FFIRI, Iran’s governing body, said it had already begun selling tickets for matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt – all played in the United States – but could now “not provide even a single ticket” to fans, many of whom had made travel arrangements trusting the official process.
“Iran's football federation says its fan ticket allocation for the World Cup has been revoked, leaving supporters unable to attend.”
Under Fifa regulations, each participating federation receives 8% of the ticket capacity for each of its matches to distribute to supporters. The FFIRI said that quota had been withdrawn “in an unexpected move” by the host country.
“Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit of governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries,” the federation said in a statement. It raised “serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organisation of the world’s biggest football event”.
The World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, begins on Thursday, with Iran scheduled to play New Zealand on 15 June and Belgium on 21 June, both in Los Angeles, before facing Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.
Iran’s involvement has been plagued by political tensions for months. On 25 May, the team moved its training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, accusing the US of being unwilling to host them. Under visa conditions, players and staff must fly into the US on matchdays and leave after each game.
Less than a fortnight later, on 6 June, the FFIRI said the US had denied visas to 15 “integral” backroom staff, including administrative officials. The federation had earlier presented Fifa with a list of 10 conditions for participation, including allowing personnel who had completed military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Iran’s players would be welcome but individuals with links to the IRGC could face entry restrictions.
Iran was the only country absent from Fifa’s annual congress in Vancouver in April after a delegation of FFIRI officials, including president Medhi Taj, were turned away at the Canadian border.
Now, as the team prepares to face New Zealand without fan support, the FFIRI called on Fifa “to uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations”. Whether political considerations have overridden sporting ones remains an open question.