The game was in Los Angeles. But they were not even allowed to spend the night there after the game. As soon as the World Cup games were over, they were quickly put on a plane and sent to Mexico.
Iran’s coach Amir Galenoi expressed anger at this accusation. The point is, even if they participate in the World Cup, they have no right to make any decisions about their schedule or preparations.
Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand in their opening match in Group G. Interestingly, Iran’s next match is against Belgium at the same venue on Sunday. Still, the group was not allowed to stay in Los Angeles after the fight. They were told to return to their training camp in Tijuana, just 140 miles away.
Iran planned to spend the night in Los Angeles after the match. As usual players are supposed to be given time for rest, treatment and rehabilitation. With that in mind we were scheduled to return to Tijuana the next afternoon. But plans changed after the match.
“We weren’t even given a recovery time,” Galene said through an interpreter. After the match he was told, ‘You have to leave now. Time is essential for players to rest. But we were told to get on the plane and go back to Tijuana. It has caused us a lot of trouble!’ The Iranian coach alleged that he was not informed about the reasons for the decision.
Golnoy’s clear question, who is making decisions? “Honestly, I don’t know why we were sent back. It’s so strange. It’s as if someone else planned for us. Someone else decided for us!’
“We were supposed to arrive two days ago. We were supposed to stay after the match tonight and return tomorrow afternoon. Why the change, I don’t know!’ “I think we are probably the most underdog team in this World Cup,” he lamented.
Not only the tour, Iran has faced various problems since the beginning of the World Cup. Clashes with the United States and Israel on 28 February created uncertainty about their participation. Iran has requested that three group matches be moved outside the United States. FIFA rejected that request. In addition, the president of the Iran Football Federation, part of the coaching staff and some members of the media team could not enter the United States due to lack of visas.
Captain Mehdi Taremio is unhappy with the whole incident. About an hour after the match, he said, ‘We have to leave Los Angeles now. It’s not good for us. I think FIFA should have been more supportive. In fact, everything is like a disaster!’
Iran regained parity despite falling behind twice on Monday. But before the fight on the field was over, another question arose—if the game was played again in the same stadium a few days later, where exactly was the need to cross the border overnight and return to Mexico?