Iran on Wednesday night hosted a FIFA World Cup departure rally attended by thousands of fans in Tehran’s Enqelab Square amid concerns about the team getting into the US and competing at the tournament.
The players, who will continue their preparations at a training camp in Turkey next week, were cheered by the crowd as they made patriotic statements from a stage, where their uniforms were unveiled for the June 11 to July 19 tournament.
“This is the best send-off in the last four World Cup campaigns,” Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) president Mehdi Taj told state TV. “The players are with the people, and the crowd stands with the country’s dignity, honor and strength. Whatever the result, may Iran’s flag be raised there and defended.”
Photo: AFP
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the US and Israel started the regional war by launching airstrikes on the Islamic republic in late February.
“Our national team is the national football team of wartime,” Taj said, adding that the team would be a “pillar of authority and resistance.”
People at the ceremony waved flags, and belted out chants and slogans, some holding placards and pictures of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed during US-Israel attacks.
“For the blood of the martyrs, sing the national anthem with firmness and without hesitation,” one placard read.
Taj was refused entry to cohost nation Canada for the FIFA Congress two weeks ago because of his connection to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), triggering fears other members of Iranian delegation would face issues getting into the US.
As in Canada, the IRGC is classified as a “terrorist entity” in the US and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said no one with ties to the organization would be admitted to the country.
Iran has placed responsibility for getting the players and team officials into the US, where Team Melli are scheduled to play all three World Cup group matches, firmly in the hands of FIFA.
“Nothing has arrived yet regarding the visas. We hope it will definitely be handled within this timeframe,” FFIRI secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini told state TV at the rally on Wednesday. “FIFA has made promises, and hopefully those promises will lead to results and the players will receive their visas on time.”
Reports that some Iraqi players had been refused US visas, which were quickly refuted by the White House and the Iraq Football Association on Wednesday, further fueled Iranian concerns.
Iran is to play Gambia in a World Cup warm-up in Antalya on May 29, and Mombeini said the FFIRI is arranging another friendly for the training camp in Turkey.
Additional reporting by AFP
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