In a surprising turn of events, Iranian officials were denied entry into Canada ahead of the FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver. This incident occurred just weeks before the commencement of the World Cup matches. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand confirmed this on Wednesday, stating that it was her "understanding" that this had happened but emphasized that the denial was "unintentional."
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Anita Anand, said:
"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,"
The news first broke out through Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to their report, Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation and two other officials were denied entry due to what they described as "inappropriate behavior by immigration officials" at Toronto's Pearson Airport.
Iran International reported that Taj had been granted a visa on Monday but was removed from Canada late Tuesday evening due to his connections with IRGC - a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
Official response from Diab's office
An official response came via email from Diab’s office which stated all visa applications are reviewed individually by trained professionals.
Taous Ait, Diab’s press secretary, said:
“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.”
This incident comes at a crucial time when representatives from each of 211 federations under soccer’s governing body were expected to attend the event starting Thursday. The World Cup is being co-hosted by U.S., Mexico and Canada. Iranian representatives were notably absent during Tuesday’s largest formal meeting with Asia’s soccer leaders and Gianni Infantino prior to this summer’s World Cup. There was no discussion regarding Iran's participation or whether their games should be relocated out of the United States due to the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
There were concerns that visa issues could affect the Iranian delegation's ability to travel to Vancouver for the overall FIFA Congress, as well as for the World Cup starting on June 11. Iran is scheduled to begin World Cup play in Group G on June 15 against New Zealand in Inglewood, California, before matches against Egypt and Belgium. FIFA has yet to respond regarding Iran's status for this event. This incident serves as a reminder of how geopolitical tensions can inadvertently impact sports events and their participants.
