US official says Iran knew team would have to leave the country shortly after World Cup match
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is pushing back on complaints from Iran's national team that it was forced to leave the country immediately after its first World Cup match instead of having a day to recover in a hotel, saying that was the plan for the team all along.
“We were clear this was the process,” Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said after Monday's night's 2-2 draw with New Zealand that the team had been ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours later. Ghalenoei said the team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game.
Iran winger Mehdi Torabi's entry visa had also expired after the first game. Team officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they had secured him a new, multiple-entry visa allowing him to travel into the U.S. for future matches.
“This issue has been resolved,” the State Department said Tuesday. “As soon as we became aware of the issue, we worked to ensure that the player can participate in every game.”
Giuliani said during an interview broadcast Monday night on CBS News that some of the Iranian team’s support staff and team officials were denied entry into the U.S. But he said that all the players and coaches had received visas. He also outlined the conditions by which the Iranian team would be able to come into the U.S. for their games.
“The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match. They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles. They’ll be able to do it again in Seattle,” Giuliani said.
When asked about why some support staff and team officials had been denied entry, Giuliani wouldn’t go into details but referred to previous comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio about denying entry to people with direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
“Secretary Rubio said very clearly: Anybody with direct ties to the IRGC is not coming into the United States of America, and they’re not going to let the World Cup be the reason why they can come in,” Giuliani said. “So I think it’s very clear why.”
The Iranians’ World Cup cycle has been in upheaval since the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran ultimately decided to compete even after FIFA rejected its request to move its three group-stage matches out of the U.S.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said the team endured five hours of travel and security checks during what’s normally a very short trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday.
“I think FIFA have to help us more than this,” Taremi said.
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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting from Washington.
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