Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei has told FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ‘stand up’ to the United States – while captain Mehdi Taremi has described the World Cup as a ‘disaster’. The Iranians have faced challenges on and off the pitch during the tournament, which for them will come to an end if results don’t go their way on Saturday.
Friday’s 1-1 draw with Egypt saw Iran finish third in Group G, and while they remain one of the eight best third-placed sides in the tournament, they could still be knocked out. Ghalenoei’s side thought that they’d sealed their place in the round of 32 in stoppage time before Shoja Khalilzadeh’s winner was ruled out for offside, while also Saeid Ezatolah also headed against the crossbar.
But their frustration is about more than the result. Amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US, Iran’s players and staff are banned from staying in the US and have been forced to base themselves in Tijuana, Mexico, despite all of their matches being above the border.
Boss Ghalenoei acknowledges that Infantino has done his best to help them, but wants FIFA and its president to go further. “I know Mr Infantino has tried his best to minimise the problems as much as possible but it was the host that wasn’t very good to us,” Ghalenoei told a post-match press conference.
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“I urge FIFA to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr Infantino will actually stand up to such behaviour.”
Meanwhile, skipper Taremi – who missed a penalty shortly after Ramin Rezaeian equalised – criticised FIFA and made reference to the 11 senior Iranian officials who were denied entry to the US. “Since the beginning, it’s a disaster World Cup,” the striker bemoaned.
“I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately this they couldn’t solve since the beginning. Mr Infantino came to our changing room [after the] first game and he said, ‘It’s just the beginning’.
“But [the] group stage finishes tomorrow and we don’t have our logistic people here, they don’t have a visa. How [is that] possible?”
Asked if he believed that FIFA and the US wanted Iran knocked out, Taremi replied: “We have to fight against everything here. I don’t know what people want or know, but as we see it by our perspective, yeah, they’d like that, I think.”
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View 3 ImagesMehdi Taremi suggested that FIFA and the US don’t want Iran to progress(Image: Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Iran’s fate now hangs in the balance, although they only need one of three results to work in their favour in order to qualify for the knockout stage: a winner in the clash between Algeria and Austria, a win for Ghana against Croatia, or a draw/loss for DR Congo to Uzbekistan.
Ghalenoei hit out at the US once more when paying tribute to his squad, who stormed through qualifying, winning 11 of their 16 games across two stages. “To my players and the team, I want to say to them I’m proud of them, what these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly,” he added.
“Had the host country allowed us to arrive two weeks earlier, we would have been more prepared. They were reasonable, rational demands. We would have been able to recover and be in better shape physically and mentally; however, they deprived us of that justice.
View 3 ImagesGianni Infantino visited Iran’s dressing room after their opening game(Image: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
“When you play in a match, physically, scientifically, our bodies are at a low and when you suddenly go on a flight, that actually postpones your recovery and this is the third time they are doing this to us, we have to leave from here to the airport and we have to return to Tijuana and it will take us some three hours.
“Their behaviour towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. They didn’t let us come two weeks earlier and two days earlier before every game. This has really hurt us.
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“And we had a war as well. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way.”
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