Iranian World Cup players to be able to enter US day before matches, Homeland Security Dept. says

Iran’s national soccer team, currently training in Tijuana, Mexico, will be able to enter the US the day before each of their three World Cup matches, the US Department of Homeland Security says.

Media reports over the weekend had quoted the Iranian ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, as saying that Iran’s team would have to enter and leave the US the same day as they were playing, raising questions over logistics and whether it would affect team performance.

It is not the case that Iran would be forced to arrive the same day as their matches, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson says.

“These statements are untrue,” the spokesperson says in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of President Donald] Trump the Iranian team will be able to arrive the day before their matches.”

The ambassador, speaking to Reuters in Tijuana via an interpreter yesterday, criticized US officials for denying visas to some of the Iranian football federation staff but said that the ones that had been granted did not prevent them from staying overnight.

“Their visas don’t specify anything about them having to leave at a certain time,” he said.

After weeks of uncertainty, the US awarded visas to all the players on Friday, just 10 days before their first ​match.

But several members of the ⁠Iranian squad were not given visas, including “key managerial and administrative members,” according to Iran’s football federation.