⁠An Iranian football federation delegation says it turned back at Toronto’s main airport this week, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and is set to miss a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday that the delegation members, including federation President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy, Hamed Momeni, turned back ⁠⁠upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials”.

The Iranian delegation was en route to Vancouver for Thursday’s FIFA Congress, which is meant to bring together representatives of all 211 member associations before the World Cup being cohosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

“While Mehdi Taj, president, Hedayat Mombeni, secretary-general, and Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary-general of the federation, had travelled to Toronto ⁠⁠with official visas to attend the FIFA Congress, they returned to Turkiye on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation’s armed forces,” the Iran football federation said in a statement.

In 2024, Canada listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with the IRGC.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said in a statement.

“We have taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account and will continue to ‌‌do so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.”

However, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said it was her “understanding” that Iranian football officials were denied entry into the country but added that the denial was “unintentional”.

“It’s not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but I’ll leave it to the minister to indicate,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not speak about specific cases due to privacy legislation, but IRGC members were not welcome in Canada.

The incident that occurred on Tuesday underscores the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iran’s participation in the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on FIFA’s agenda since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February.

Iran’s qualification has not removed hurdles tied to travel, visas and security in a tournament staged in three countries.

While FIFA has insisted fixtures will proceed as scheduled, the delegation’s withdrawal deepens 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 organisation’s headquarters, the Tasnim report added.

The FIFA Congress ⁠⁠is usually a routine gathering, but carries greater weight this year with the World Cup less than two months away and several ⁠⁠questions, including cost and Iran’s participation, still hanging over the first 48-team edition of the tournament.

The Iranian officials were also unable to attend Tuesday’s Asian Football Confederation congress, which was held in Vancouver. (Al Jazeera)

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