Insulted by police at Toronto airport, Iranian delegation cancels its presence at the FIFA congress

New incident. The leaders of the Iranian Football Federation canceled their participation in the FIFA congress in Vancouver on Wednesday, citing insulting behavior by immigration police upon their arrival at Toronto airport, according to Iranian media.

The president and secretary general of the federation carrying “official visas” “returned to Turkey on the first available flight due to the inappropriate behavior of immigration agents (…) and an insult to one of the most honorable organs of the Iranian armed forces,” said a press release from their organization, cited by the media. The identity of this instance has not been specified.

The United States does not want to exclude Iran from the World Cup

In 2024, Canada classified the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, as a terrorist group. The country co-hosts the World Cup from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the United States and Mexico. The FIFA congress takes place Thursday in Vancouver, in western Canada.

The United States, host country, is not seeking to exclude Iranian athletes from the FIFA World Cup, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently clarified. He nevertheless expressed his reservations about the people likely to accompany them, “some of whom have links to the Guardians”.

Iran is scheduled to play its first three World Cup matches in the United States. The Iranian federation specifies in its press release that it had contacts after the airport incident with FIFA officials, who expressed “their deep regret”.