OAN Staff Lillian Mann
6:08 PM – Wednesday, June 17, 2026
The United States is objecting claims from Iran’s national soccer team that it was forced to leave the country unexpectedly after its first World Cup match. White House officials pushed back on the criticism, asserting that the immediate post-match departure plan had been decided and communicated to the team all along.
Following Monday night’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said the team had been told abruptly that everyone must immediately board a plane for the 140-mile trip back to their base in Tijuana, Mexico, instead of staying overnight in California to rest.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said via interpreter. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”
However, Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, pushed back on the claims, arguing that the federal government was entirely transparent about the strict travel logistics
“We were clear this was the process,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match. They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles. They’ll be able to do it again in Seattle.”
On Sunday, Iran forward Mehdi Taremi alleged that what should have been a brief trip from Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, turned into a five-hour ordeal of border lines and intensive security checks.
Prior to the logistical dispute, Iran captain Mehdi Torabi revealed his entry visa had mistakenly been processed for a single entry, leaving it invalid after the team’s initial post-match exit to Mexico. However, team officials later confirmed he was issued a new multiple-entry visa, clearing him for future World Cup matches.
Giuliani refrained from offering any details on why some support staff and team officials had been denied entry. However, he explicitly cited previous mandates from Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding strict entry bars for individuals associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Secretary Rubio said very clearly: Anybody with direct ties to the IRGC is not coming into the United States of America, and they’re not going to let the World Cup be the reason why they can come in,” Giuliani said. “So I think it’s very clear why.”
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