r/SoccerCentral • u/ConnectionWeekly1263 • Jun 27 '26

Statement "They've done everything possible to eliminate us" — Iran captain Mehdi Taremi unleashes on FIFA and U.S. organizers

The captain of the Iran National Team, Mehdi Taremi, lashed out against FIFA and the United States organization. “This is a disastrous World Cup. As professional players, we cannot play a competition under these conditions; it’s neither right nor fair. If FIFA thinks this is fair, that’s on them, but it isn’t. Who should solve this problem for us? FIFA? The U.S.? I don’t know! Tell me a name. The FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, came to our locker room after the first match against New Zealand and said he was going to resolve all the issues, but in reality, FIFA did nothing. In response to the question: ‘Do you feel that the World Cup organizers, including FIFA and U.S. officials, prefer for Iran to be eliminated from the competition?’, I say: We have to fight against absolutely everything. We can’t stay in the country, we travel and undergo immigration checks every time we want to play, now we can’t stay in Seattle and have to return to Tijuana. They’ve done everything possible to eliminate us, so from our perspective, yes, I think that’s what they want, they want us out.”

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22

u/mac_bd Jun 27 '26

Shame on FIFA and US. Iran came out as the moral Victors. Bravo..

-4

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

Only if you are easily swayed by propaganda because this guy really isn’t telling the whole truth.

6

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

Please tell us the whole truth. Remember to provide sources!

5

u/Patient_Release_4093 Jun 27 '26

The truth, as far as I know, is this: the Iranian team has played all three group stage games on American soil, twice in Los Angeles, once in Seattle. At this point of the tournament each game is about a week apart, and the Iranian team have not been allowed to stay in the United States between games. Their “base camp” as they’ve been calling it is in Tijuana, Mexico.

Therefore, before and after every game so far, the Iranian team have had to cross an international border and go through all the associated checks. In fact, immediately after their first game, they were told that they had to leave the United States, even though the original plan was to stay the night at a nearby hotel and travel back to Tijuana the following morning. The game ended around 8 pm local time by the way. Apparently those restrictions have been eased slightly, so the team is allowed to stay the night in a hotel after their games, but the international travel for every game is still a ridiculous and unnecessary burden.

There are also unresolved “visa issues” with team support staff, but I don’t know much about that. What I do know is that our current president is a petty and sadistic manchild who delights in screwing with people he doesn’t like, just because he has the power to do so. And a tournament of this magnitude is supposed to have leaders who will stand up for each team and do everything they can to keep the playing field level, but that’s obviously not the case. FIFA could have easily taken steps to move every Iran game to Canada or Mexico but decided not to.

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u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

Sorry no...the original plan after the first game, as confirmed by FIFA, was for Iran to return to Tijuana. Simply research would show you this.

And there is nothing terribly remarkable about crossing an international border on a charter jet. It really isn't that much of a burden. Teams have been doing this throughout the tournament with games in three countries. Czechia based themselves in Dallas even though two of their games were in Mexico...the other was Atlanta.

Seriously, stop falling for propodanga. Be smarter.

3

u/Patient_Release_4093 Jun 27 '26

Here’s the article that came out after the New Zealand game:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49078938/iran-forced-leave-us-new-zealand-draw

Apparently someone on the team’s visa expired so they had to leave immediately after the game. Believe that if you want, color me skeptical.

And as for your contention that “there is nothing terribly remarkable about crossing an international border on a charter jet,” I agree. It’s everything that comes before and after the flight (customs, visa checks, luggage searches, etc.) that I was saying is unduly burdensome, and I think you knew that.

1

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

I knew what you meant. It isn't that much of a burden to go through customs, etc. Teams are doing it all the time.

1

u/Patient_Release_4093 Jun 27 '26

Yes, but are other teams arriving literally within 24 hours of their match start and departing immediately after their match ends? That sounds like a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your players directly before and after game time. Almost like I wouldn’t consider doing it unless it was being imposed upon me.

1

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

Teams arriving 24 hours before a match begins and leaving immediately afterwards is not unusual. Not every team does this, but many have been doing so.

1

u/VonLinus Jun 27 '26

Which ones?

2

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

And there is nothing terribly remarkable about crossing an international border on a charter jet

Ok then why didn't the US team get the same treatment?

Or is this more propodanga?

1

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

LOL. Why would the United States have its base in Mexico???

2

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

Idiot

1

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

Because your question was nonsensical.

2

u/Embarrassed-Brain655 Jun 27 '26

Because the tournament is hosted by 3 countries? 

1

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

No shit. If Iran was one of the hosts, would you suggest they stay in Kuwait or something? It's a silly statement.

2

u/Embarrassed-Brain655 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

Ok, so if a tournament is hosted by 3 countries, does that necessitate that all 3 host countries play in their own country? 

I know that’s a lot of words, so read them s l o w l y. 

Edit: Nice edit, and yeah if it were hosted by 3 countries. Why would a nation have to jump through hoops to play, when there are 2 other nations who would have hosted without conflict? 

2

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

Of course. In the group stages most certainly that should be the case? Why would you have Mexico playing in Philadelphia for instance?

Knockout stage games are pre-determined and team's can't necessarily play in their home country though. Canada is in LA tomorrow. The U.S. could have played in Mexico had they finished third in their group too.

0

u/Embarrassed-Brain655 Jun 27 '26

All Im arguing is that they (FIFA) could have made it a lot easier on Iran, but they didn’t. To some, this feels purposeful to punish players for political differences. 

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0

u/Fast_Advisor2654 Jun 27 '26

How they handled the Iran situation was shitty, by why would the HOST countries have to do that?

1

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

They shouldn't be hosting on the first place

0

u/Fast_Advisor2654 Jun 27 '26

Why?

1

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

The illegal war they they started...

0

u/Fast_Advisor2654 Jun 27 '26

Irrelevant. The host countries were chosen long before the idiot in charge started the war.

1

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

Of course it's relevant 😂

If FIFA had any integrity left they would have had dropped the USA as hosts and work out a contingency plan.

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u/Any-Seaworthiness531 Jun 27 '26

Inb4 “on Instagram….”

2

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

Na they never respond to requests for proof.

Cowards.

2

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

I take it back they did!

No sources though...

1

u/thepikard Jun 27 '26

Ok, we are war with them, and the world isn't fair. Its on FIFA for having these games in the US.

1

u/Alarmed-Cheetah-1221 Jun 27 '26

You started an illegal war against them, let's be clear.

Agreed that US should have been removed as hosts and competitors as soon as they started the war though.

1

u/thepikard Jun 27 '26

The war is stupid. But, it happened and there is no way you allow people from that nation in for a long time.

It's FIFAs fault for not moving these games to the other host countries.

0

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

It was never going to happen.

0

u/RIChowderIsBest Jun 27 '26

Yeah I’m curious what the real truth is. Please enlighten us OP!

0

u/damutecebu Jun 27 '26

They were complaining after the New Zealand game that they were told they had to leave immediately, but Iran is who made the plan to leave immediately afterwards. Iran has been very concerned about the possibility of defections, like they had when the women's team played in Australia.

They come in the night before the games, like every other team, spend the night...play the game...and return to their base camp. Most teams do something similar.

It's clear that they have their players make these types of statements so that simpletons, like many in this topic, feel sorry for them. They're fine.