Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) chief Mehdi Taj has said FIFA must ensure the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is not “disrespected” by the United States if Iran’s national team is to travel for the World Cup in June.
The comments follow an incident in which an Iranian delegation, including Taj, was stopped at the Canadian border last week while traveling to Vancouver for the FIFA Congress. The delegation later said the treatment by immigration officials was disrespectful.
Taj said the group chose to return home voluntarily. However, Canada’s immigration minister later told Parliament that Taj’s visa had been revoked while he was en route, citing his alleged links to the IRGC.
Canada designated the IRGC a terrorist entity in 2024, following a similar move by the United States five years earlier.
FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom sent a letter expressing regret over the “inconvenience and disappointment” the Iranian delegation experienced in Canada and invited the Iranian Football Federation to Zurich on May 20 for a meeting on World Cup preparations.
Taj told state broadcaster IRIB on Tuesday that he would seek assurances from FIFA over the treatment of the Iranian delegation in the United States.
“We need a guarantee that for our trip they have no right to insult the symbols of our system, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said on the sidelines of a pro-government night rally in Tehran.
“This is something they must take seriously. If there is such a guarantee and responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what happened in Canada will not happen again.”
The United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host the World Cup from June 11 to July 19, with Iran scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the tournament, but said anyone with ties to the IRGC would not be admitted to the country.
Taj, who previously served as a senior official with the IRGC in Isfahan Province before entering football administration, said anything short of firm guarantees could lead to the Iranian delegation turning back at the U.S. border.
“We are going to the World Cup, for which we qualified, and our host is FIFA, not Mr. Trump or the United States,” he said.
“If they accept hosting us, then they must also accept that they must not insult our military institutions in any way.
“If they do, then naturally it could create the same situation that happened in Canada, where there was a possibility we might have to return.
“So there must be this kind of guarantee so that we can go with peace of mind.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on the Islamic Republic in late February.
With Iranian top-flight football suspended, domestically based players have been in a training camp in Tehran preparing for the tournament.
Taj said the federation was hoping to arrange at least one friendly against a strong opponent in neighboring Turkey, where Iran played matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica in late March.
