The FFIRI (Football Federation of Iran) said on Tuesday (9) that its ticket quota was revoked just days before the start of the World Cup, leaving Iranian fans who had already made travel plans unable to attend their national team’s games.
The World Cup begins on Thursday (11), with Iran playing its first two Group G games in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, and then facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
In a statement, the Iranian federation said it had already started the process of selling tickets for matches, but would no longer be able to provide them to fans.
“This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, trusting the officially announced process, have already made the necessary plans to attend matches,” FFIRI added in a statement.
“Depriving Iranian fans of access to their legitimate and official quota of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit that governs international competitions and the principle of equality between participating countries,” he states.
For the entity, the revocation raises serious questions about “the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organization of the biggest football event in the world.”
Each federation participating in the World Cup receives 8% of the tickets for each of their matches, to be distributed to fans according to their own criteria.
‘PRINCIPLES OF NEUTRALITY’
The FFIRI did not say who made the decision to withhold the tickets, but asked FIFA (International Football Federation), football’s highest governing body, to follow “the principles of neutrality, fairness and established regulations” and requested that it prevent off-field issues from casting a shadow over the tournament.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been surrounded by uncertainty since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against the country in late February, triggering a regional conflict.
FFIRI negotiated the transfer of the Arizona team’s base to Mexico, due to uncertainty over the granting of American visas and a growing feeling in Iran that the team’s presence in the US should be kept to a minimum.
After weeks of uncertainty, the US granted visas to all players last week — ten days before the first match — but several members of the coaching staff did not receive them.
An American official told Reuters on Friday that the government had issued “the necessary visas for Iran to compete in the World Cup.”
FIFA said on Tuesday that its general secretary, Mattias Grafstrom, had a “positive conversation” with FFIRI president Mehdi Taj following the team’s arrival at its tournament base.
“With the team now in Mexico, FIFA will continue dialogue and collaboration with FFIRI to ensure the national team and delegation experience is a positive one,” Grafstrom said in a statement.
