Iran Coach Amir Ghalenoei Says FIFA Forces Team to Leave After New Zealand Draw

Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoei and players complained that after their 2-2 draw with New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, they were told to leave immediately and return to their training base camp in Tijuana, Mexico.

Ghalenoei said, "We spent so much time in the air commuting, they didn't even give us time to recover," as FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the team’s locker room afterward.

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Mehdi Taremi described the situation as "Everything is like disaster, actually, for us," while the team’s base camp had been moved to Tijuana from Arizona weeks before the tournament.

The BBC reported that Iran’s travel plans were altered again following Monday’s game, and that witnesses said the team’s main exit was locked when the fire broke out—though the BBC framing here centers on the World Cup travel restrictions rather than the garment fire context.

Iran’s next matches were scheduled for June 21 against Belgium in Los Angeles and June 27 against Egypt in Seattle, according to the Global Times report.

After the match, FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited Iran’s locker room and told the players, "I know what you go through, I understand," as Ghalenoei and Mehdi Taremi pressed their case about travel restrictions.

The BBC reported that multiple "integral" members of Iran’s backroom staff were denied entry visas for the US, and that the Iranian Football Federation called on Fifa to "uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations" after ticket allocation was revoked.

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Ghalenoei said, "After the game today they said to us: 'You have to leave immediately.'" while also arguing that recovery time was being taken away.

The New York Times reported that an Iranian Football Federation official told The Athletic on Sunday that 11 staffers had been denied entry into the United States, and that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, "The Iranian National Football Team agreed to these terms."

The Guardian described Infantino’s locker-room message as encouragement after the 2-2 draw, with the coach and captain continuing to frame the treatment as unfair.

Iran’s complaints tied the travel disruption to visa and logistics issues, with the BBC saying Iran were originally due to be based in Tucson, Arizona, before moving their camp to Tijuana, Mexico in late May.

“Toggle Play ‘I know what you've been through’: FIFA president visits Iran team FIFA President Gianni Infantino praised Iran’s players during a World Cup dressing room visit after the team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday”

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The BBC also quoted Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, saying the team will have to leave US soil on "the day that the match wraps up," while his statement added that safety and security around base camps and training sites was critical.

The New York Times reported that Ghalenoei, Mehdi Taremi, and goalscorer Mohammad Mohebbi said they were forced to fly back to their base camp in Mexico hours after Monday’s match at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.

CBS Sports said the trip from Tijuana to Los Angeles, usually a 45-minute flight, took five hours, and it quoted Mohammad Mohebi saying, "We must come here two days before the game."

With Iran scheduled to return to Los Angeles for Belgium on June 21 and to play their final Group G game against Egypt in Seattle on June 27, the sources frame the immediate risk as reduced recovery and preparation time under the imposed travel conditions.