Taj urges FIFA to show ‘clarity’ over Iran’s World Cup controversy
Mahdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), said he will seek answers regarding certain issues about Iran’s participation at the World Cup – co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 – in a meeting with FIFA officials in Zurich later this month.
The FFIRI chief – a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – made the remarks upon returning to Tehran on Friday, after he and his two colleagues abruptly left Toronto earlier in the week, abandoning their onward trip to Vancouver for the 76th FIFA Congress.
Iran’s delegation was the only absentee from the 211-member congress as Thursday’s meeting got underway, following a clash with Canadian border officials earlier. While media reports suggested that immigration authorities denied the delegation entry into Canada, Taj insisted that it was their own decision to leave the North American country after exhaustive questioning about his ties with the IRGC – which was listed by Canada as a “terrorist group” in 2024 – and “offensive insults directed at the country’s proud armed forces.”
FIFA sources described the matter as a “regrettable situation” but insisted that Iran had been invited to attend the congress and that responsibility for deciding who enters the country lay with Canadian authorities.
Despite the latest controversy surrounding Iran’s World Cup campaign, FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted during the congress on Friday that Team Melli will definitely visit the United States to fulfill Group G fixtures against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt.
“Let me start by confirming straight away, for those who maybe want to say something else or write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino said. “And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. The reason for that is simple: because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.
“There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world? We have to do it, and we have this opportunity.”
However, Taj, blaming the international governing body for “being intimidated by the United States,” said that he will have an urgent meeting at FIFA headquarters in the coming weeks to “reach clarity” over the uncertain situation surrounding the national team.
“I spoke to [FIFA secretary general] Mattias Grafström without hesitation,” Taj said. “My colleagues were surprised at how strongly I spoke. I told him that I had never seen FIFA so weak. I told them they only issue condemnations instead of taking practical action.
“They put the Italian flag in place of Iran’s flag, and FIFA only condemned it. The U.S. president said there would be no security for our national team in his country, and you showed no reaction to his obscene remarks. Now we go to Canada with visas, but we return because of insults, and again FIFA does nothing but condemn,” Taj added, referring to a suggestion made by U.S. special envoy Paolo Zampolli in April to replace Iran with Italy at the World Cup, which was firmly rejected by Italian officials.
Taj, who was denied a U.S. entry visa for the World Cup draw ceremony last December, emphasized that the matter is not personal but national: “There are many issues. The World Cup organizers must not allow any flag other than Iran’s into the stadiums. We have said the situation has now broadened. They must say what they will do for journalists and spectators, what conditions will be for those of our players who served in the IRGC, and how officials and companions will be accommodated.”
Taj’s concerns were fueled by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments last week that some members of the Iranian federation who “have ties to the IRGC” may experience difficulties accompanying the national team in the United States.
Iran is set to begin its World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, where it is also due to play Belgium six days later, before taking on Egypt in Seattle on June 26.