Iran still has a chance to advance to the knockout round of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history, but it sounds like the team is still dissatisfied with how the tournament has gone for them thus far.
Following Friday night’s draw against Egypt, where what appeared to be a late go-ahead goal was disallowed after video review, the captain of Iran’s National Team, Mehdi Taremi, spoke out against the way the team has been treated by FIFA and the United States.
‘Disaster World Cup’
Throughout the World Cup, Iran has dealt with some travel restrictions and had their base camp moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, ahead of the tournament amid the country’s war with the co-hosting United States.
Iran was limited to flying in and out of the U.S. from their home base in Mexico for their first two World Cup matches. The team arrived in the U.S. the day before their games against New Zealand and Belgium, before returning immediately after.
While Iran was permitted to arrive in Seattle two days before Friday’s match against Egypt, the team was still required to leave the country immediately following the match. Iran has been outspoken in its opposition to this policy, arguing that it hinders recovery after the event.
After Friday’s game against Egypt, Taremi once again blasted the United States and FIFA.
“This is a disaster World Cup. We can’t stay in the country and have to travel every time we play without any recovery. Now we can’t stay in Seattle and have to return to Tijuana. This is not fair,” Taremi said during his postgame press conference.
‘Most Oppressed Team’
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei, who previously called Iran “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup,” echoed Taremi’s comments.
“When you play in a match, physiologically your body is at a low afterwards,” he said after the match via ESPN. “And when you suddenly have to get straight on a plane for a three hour flight back it postpones your recovery. This is the third time they’ve done this to us. Their behavior towards us has been really terrible, and I hope the world is aware of that. All of this really hurt us … and, of course, we have a war back home as well.”
That said, Ghalenoei acknowledged that the controversial offside call at the end of the match was simply “bad luck” and not due to any oppression.
“There are rules and it’s all based on technology, I accept that,” Ghalenoei told a news conference. “But I am really upset because of the bad luck we had. Because of millimeters, our goal was ruled out. That’s justice. But I’m upset by the bad luck.”
“I used to think we were an oppressed team,” he added, referring to the travel restrictions placed on Iran during the tournament and visa restrictions that saw some staff members unable to travel for the tournament. “But I note that we are also an unlucky team.”
Source: The Comeback
