Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said Saturday that U.S. authorities had informed him travel restrictions affecting his team would be eased in time for Iran’s third World Cup group match, but criticized the treatment his players have faced, saying it had negatively affected their performances on the field.
The Iranian squad arrived at the World Cup with their country still at war with co-hosts the United States, and have been based in Mexico while playing all their games in the U.S.
That has required frequent cross-border travel and U.S. authorities have only permitted the team to remain in the country for a few hours after each game, with restrictions frequently shifting at the last minute.
After playing Belgium in Los Angeles last Sunday, Iran's final group game will take place in Seattle next Friday against Egypt.
Ghalenoei Saturday said he had been told his team would have more flexibility for their final match, before quickly adding that it would have been "justice" for his team to have the same treatment for its first two games.
"They said in Seattle, you can do what you want, you can act the way you want to, and you can come earlier," he told a press conference, without specifying who exactly the information had come from.
"But what I want, 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, yes, they've allowed us to decide, to make our own decisions with regards to planning the travel," he said.
"But unfortunately, for the first two games, others made these travel arrangements for us, and the timing for us."
Last week, Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand, the tournament's lowest-ranked team, with sloppy defending twice allowing the All Whites to go ahead before Team Melli equalized.
"There were errors, individual ones and also with regards to this defense we had, and I think we were playing ... we were doing too many passes," said Ghalenoei.
"And I think, because we have been flying too much, commuting, as a result of this long commute, we've been tired."
The manager said restrictions on his team had been even more onerous for Sunday's game against Belgium, Group G's highest-ranked team.
Ghalenoei said his team had arrived in the U.S. on Saturday, less than 24 hours before kickoff, despite being briefly told by FIFA on Friday afternoon that they might be able to travel that day.
"We waited till 7 p.m., nothing happened, and they said, 'Sorry, we weren't able to do that," said the coach.
"That's going to affect us mentally, especially me as a head coach, because I want to focus on technical stuff," he said.
Iran had only been able to do half of its usual pre-game training session, Ghalenoei complained.
All four teams in Group G currently have one point, with only the top two guaranteed to reach the knockout stages.
A majority of third-placed teams across all groups will also progress, depending on their performance.
