Iran saw a travel request denied ahead of their second World Cup match against Belgium in Los Angeles and manager Amir Ghalenoei has been disappointed by the lack of support from other sides
Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoei spoke openly in a press conference(Image: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)
Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei has called out the coaches of the other 47 sides at the World Cup for not supporting their grievances against the United States. Iran were forced to move their training base to Mexico and are operating under travel restrictions during the tournament.
They have returned to the US to take on Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday in their second game. Iran were forced to return to Tijuana after they drew 2-2 with New Zealand and their schedule has been stretched due to US restrictions.
Ghalenoei described Iran as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup” after the New Zealand draw and made a complaint to FIFA after being denied a request to fly to Los Angeles early.
The Iran manager has now revealed that he appealed for support from the other World Cup teams, only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears. “I asked the other 47 coaches a question, and none of them have responded to me,” he said.
Get the latest World Cup 2026 news in your inbox with our Make Football Great Again newsletter
“We are here for football, not politics, and we are saying that again. Our grievances are about the way they’ve behaved with us. I haven’t heard anything from other coaches (at the World Cup), and I’m sure they’re busy and preparing their own teams, and we never expect them to have a reaction. But if I had seen another team being treated the way we are being treated, I would say something.”
Iran wanted to land in California two days before Sunday’s game in order to prepare. But that request was denied, with US officials insisting they only stay in the country for 24 hours around matches.
“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. I thank FIFA for that, but it doesn’t mean it’s succeeded. I just hope problems won’t occur in future World Cups.”
He added: “We needed to have 24 hours (in Los Angeles), but they gave us less than 16 hours, and that is why we had to leave our training halfway. These constraints have made it very difficult for us.”
“You cannot deny that our situation hasn’t been the same as all the other teams,” Iran midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi said. “All the other teams have managed to focus on our planning, whereas we have had to spend so much time just commuting.”
Nevertheless, Ghalenoei is hopeful that FIFA will get things sorted in time for their third Group G game against Egypt in Seattle on Saturday. “For the third game, they said, ‘In Seattle, you can do what you want,’” Ghalenoei said.
“’You can act the way you want to, and you can come earlier.’ But my problem is, why didn’t they let us come earlier for the first two games as well? I just know for the last game they’ve allowed us to make our own decisions about planning the travel. But unfortunately for the first two games, others made these timing decisions for us.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’
Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.
