The Iran national football team encountered severe logistical disruptions and political pressure from diaspora protesters after arriving in Los Angeles ahead of their World Cup opening match against New Zealand.
The squad was forced to relocate their training camp to Tijuana, Mexico, due to an ongoing visa dispute.
Several Iranian officials and Somali referee Omar Artan were denied entry to the United States.
Upon reaching their hotel in Manhattan Beach, the team faced heavy police security and demonstrations from members of the Southern California Iranian diaspora, which numbers 375,000.
Many protesters stated the squad does not represent their home nation.
Players and Coach Speak Out
Olympiakos forward Mehdi Taremi expressed deep concerns about how geopolitical tensions overshadowed the tournament's spirit.
"This kind of tension undermines that joy and it undermines the message of Fifa and our people, which is about football and bringing about peace," he said.
Taremi noted that the visa issues and camp relocations disrupted multiple delegations.
"It's not just Iran that has been impacted, others have been impacted, including referees," he said, referring to Artan's denial of entry.
"I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup.
Of course, we don't have the same beautiful experience we usually talk about – peace and joy," Taremi added.
The striker apologized for the team arriving 20 minutes late to their pre-match press conference at So-Fi Stadium, blaming customs processing delays.
"It wasn't our fault," he said.
Taremi emphasized the squad's focus on unity.
"The players of the national team play for every Iranian … We are here as footballers to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians, irrespective of where they live," he said.
"We are not here to get involved in politics, we are here to play football."
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoi remained optimistic about fan support despite the backlash and scheduled protests from some of the 35,000 expected spectators.
"Iran will be playing as locals in Los Angeles, in spite of it all," he said.
Ghalenoi asserted the team represents the entire global Iranian community while adhering to the separation of sport and politics.
"We are here to play football and we are here to represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside of Iran or the diaspora," he said.
The manager acknowledged that the convoluted travel schedule hindered tactical preparations.
"We were supposed to start training earlier, but, look, we arrived late and we didn't have enough time to adjust, of course that will affect us," he said.
Ghalenoi expressed hope the squad could overcome these setbacks during their Group G fixtures. "I know my players are determined to do their utmost.
I hope the World Cup will go well despite the travel problems we've had," he said.
The head coach also addressed the forced absence of star forward Sardar Azmoun, excluded after government backlash over a photograph with UAE ruler Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
"Serdar Azmoun is an excellent player and has done a lot for the national team, but he is not with us and we wish he was, but this is football, sorry," Ghalenoi said.
