VANCOUVER/TORONTO, April 29 (Reuters) – A delegation from Iran’s soccer federation, including a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said they returned to Toronto’s main airport this week, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration authorities, and will miss a pre-World Cup FIFA meeting in Vancouver.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegation members, including Federation President Mehdi Taj, Secretary General Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy Hamed Momeni, returned upon arrival despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the “unacceptable behavior of immigration officials.”
The Iranian delegation was heading to Vancouver for Thursday’s FIFA congress, which aims to bring together representatives from all 211 member associations ahead of the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
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“While Mehdi Taj, President, Hedayat Mombeni, Secretary General, and Hamed Momeni, Deputy Secretary General of the Federation, had traveled to Toronto on official visas to attend the FIFA Congress, they returned to Turkey on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behavior of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honorable bodies of the Iranian nation’s armed forces,” the Iranian Football Federation said in a statement carried by Tasnim News Agency.
Taj is a former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are not allowed in Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said in a statement.
“We have taken strong action to hold the IRGC accountable and will continue to do so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.”
The incident that took place on Tuesday underlines the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iran’s participation in the World Cup, the most politically sensitive topic on FIFA’s agenda since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.
Iran’s qualification did not remove travel, visa and security hurdles in a tournament held in three countries.
CANADIAN MINISTER SAYS IRGC MEMBERS NOT WELCOME
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not speak about specific cases due to privacy laws, but members of the Revolutionary Guards were not welcome in Canada.
In 2024, Canada named the IRGC a terrorist organization.
“The Canadian government granted Taj special permission to enter Canada for a FIFA event. He would otherwise have been inadmissible due to his ties to the IRGC, which Canada formally recognized as a terrorist entity in June 2024,” the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights said in a statement.
“This matter should have been clear. The decision to grant him access at all was deeply troubling. It undermines Canada’s designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity and contradicts our country’s commitment to combating impunity for serious human rights abuses in Iran.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington has no objection to Iranian players participating in the World Cup, but added that the players should not bring people with ties to the IRGC.
Although FIFA has insisted that the matches will go ahead as planned, the delegation’s withdrawal adds to doubts over whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across borders during the tournament.
FIFA has since contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident and indicated that President Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting with them at the organization’s headquarters, the Tasnim report said.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. A source at the FIFA congress told Reuters that FIFA had sent a representative to mediate in Toronto, but their efforts were in vain.
WORLD CUP LESS THAN TWO MONTHS
The FIFA Congress is normally a routine gathering but carries more weight this year with the World Cup less than two months away and several questions still hanging over the first edition of the 48-team tournament, including the cost and Iran’s participation.
The Iranian officials were also unable to attend the Asian Football Confederation conference on Tuesday, which was also held in Vancouver.
“If it is like this in Canada, where it should be easy, what will it be like for the World Cup in the US?” a delegate at the AFC congress told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Palestine Football Association president Jibril Rajoub told Reuters in Vancouver that the visa issue had clouded the FIFA congress.
“No one knows whether they will issue visas for this or that,” he said. “Building a wall between politics and this world (of sports) is a benefit for everyone, including the three countries hosting the World Cup. Let’s at least present something united to the world.”
Security concerns, travel restrictions and the broader geopolitical climate have prompted officials in Tehran to seek guarantees for the Iranian team at the World Cup and, in some cases, explore the possibility of alternative venues for their matches in the United States.
FIFA has so far opposed any changes and reiterated that participating teams are expected to stick to the established match schedule.
The Congress was expected to focus on operational and financial issues related to the World Cup.
