Iran arrived at the World Cup already at odds with the tournament's organizers, and a hard-earned point against New Zealand has done little to ease that friction.
The team spent the build-up training across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, after immigration concerns forced them to abandon a planned base in the United States — concerns that proved well founded when a chunk of their support staff were denied visas.
The treatment has not improved since the action got underway. Monday night's 2-2 draw in Los Angeles ended not with a chance to recover, but with an instruction to pack up and leave the city at once.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei did not hide his frustration. Speaking after the game, as relayed by The Guardian , he described an order that left his players no time to regroup.
Ghalenoei said: "After the game today they said to us, 'You have to leave immediately.' Whereas today it's very important for us to have recovery."
He explained that the squad had been told to fly straight back to Tijuana rather than stay overnight in California.
"We've been asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana and we are really troubled by that," Ghalenoei added. "They are forcing us to go back early. They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we're not going to let that stop us from doing our best."
The coach then framed his side as the worst-served team at the entire tournament. He added: "I think our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup. Our federation isn't here, our media isn't here, our management isn't here."
Captain Mehdi Taremi was equally blunt about the experience. "Everything is like disaster, actually, for us," he said, noting that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had visited the dressing room, where the players raised their concerns with him directly.
It is not the first time the forward has aired his grievances on the biggest stage, having snapped over a lack of football questions during an earlier media appearance.
The logistical chaos has shadowed Iran throughout. After moving their base to Mexico, 15 members of the team's support staff were initially denied US visas, a figure later trimmed to 11 once some were approved.
The squad reached Los Angeles without both media officers and federation president Mehdi Taj, with a stand-in aide stepping in for media duties — even as a FIFA official reportedly tried more than once to cut the players' news conference short.
For a tournament built on the idea of bringing nations closer together, the image of one squad being ushered toward the exit before it can catch its breath cuts against the grain.
When off-field politics start dictating recovery time and travel plans, it is the spirit of the World Cup that ends up paying the price on the pitch.
