Iran coach says squad ordered out of US after World Cup opener, says team is ‘most oppressed’ this tournament

Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. (AFP)

• Coach Amir Ghalenoei said Iran is the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening game ended

LOS ANGELES: Coach Amir Ghalenoei said Iran is the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening game ended in Los Angeles late Monday.
The coach of Iran’s World Cup team said it was ordered to leave the US and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday night.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone must immediately get on a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”
It is the latest logistical nightmare for an Iran squad that arrived at the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington.
The US — which was in military conflict with Iran for months, until a peace deal was announced on Sunday — refused to issue visas for some team support staff, and provided travel documents to players only at the last minute.
The team was originally intending to base its training camp in Tucson, Arizona but moved it at the 11th hour to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa and logistical issues.
“They delayed our arrivals, (now) they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,” Ghalenoei told journalists following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
“They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”
According to Ghalenoei, his team had previously been told they would be able to remain in the United States until Tuesday lunchtime “to recover.”
“But again they haven’t permitted us,” he said.
“To be honest, I have no idea why they haven’t told us.”
The coach said technical staff had been forced to take on managerial duties to the absence of key personnel.
“That’s why I think we are the most oppressed team in the World Cup,” he said.
Iran played their opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday, just a day after a peace deal between the US and Iran was announced, bringing an “immediate and permanent” end to miltary operations on all fronts.
Their star strike Mehdi Taremi also slammed his team’s treatment at the tournament as a “disaster” after the game.
“It’s a lot of stress for the players and staffs and everyone, but we don’t have that support, and I think FIFA have to help us more than this,” he told reporters.
He added: “Everything is like disaster, actually, for us.”
Taremi said the first the players had learnt they would be leaving the US on Monday was on match day.
“We are just tired of this situation, because from two months ago, last month, we’re having a lot of problems, you know?
“It’s so bad, and it affects our team. We just want the peace, which is the centers of FIFA, ‘peace, joy,’ and those things.”
Taremi said FIFA president Gianni Infantino had been in the Iran changing room discussing the issue.
“He wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things too,” he said.