Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei has called out the coaches of the other 47 teams at the World Cup for failing to support their grievances against the United States, as his side prepares to face Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday under severe travel restrictions.
Ghalenoei revealed he appealed to every other coach, but none responded. “I asked the other 47 coaches a question, and none of them have responded to me,” he said. “We are here for football, not politics, and we are saying that again. Our grievances are about the way they’ve behaved with us. … But if I had seen another team being treated the way we are being treated, I would say something.”
“Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei has called out 47 World Cup coaches for ignoring their travel grievances against the US.”
Iran were forced to move their training base to Mexico and are subject to US travel restrictions limiting their stay to 24 hours around matches. After drawing 2-2 with New Zealand, Ghalenoei described his team as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup” and made a formal complaint to FIFA after being denied a request to fly to Los Angeles early.
The team wanted to land in California two days before Sunday’s game to prepare, but US officials refused. “They said, ‘Sorry, we weren’t able to do that,’” Ghalenoei said. “And that’s going to affect us mentally, especially because as a head coach, I want to focus on technical things.” He added that they were given fewer than 16 hours in Los Angeles, forcing them to abandon training halfway.
Midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi echoed the frustration: “You cannot deny that our situation hasn’t been the same as all the other teams. All the other teams have managed to focus on our planning, whereas we have had to spend so much time just commuting.”
Despite the difficulties, Ghalenoei expressed hope that FIFA will resolve the issue for their third Group G game against Egypt in Seattle next Saturday. “For the third game, they said, ‘In Seattle, you can do what you want,’” he said. “You can act the way you want to, and you can come early…” The question remains whether that promise will hold — and whether any other coach will finally break their silence.