The soccer world has descended on Vancouver this week for the annual FIFA Congress, with representatives from all 211 national federations gathering ahead of this summer's World Cup. But the biggest story isn't who showed up—it's who's missing.

Iranian soccer officials, including federation president Mehdi Taj, were denied entry into Canada on Tuesday. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand described the situation as "unintentional" on Wednesday, but the absence was glaring during Thursday morning's roll call. FIFA president Gianni Infantino quickly reassured that "of course" Iran will play at the World Cup and in the U.S. this summer.

The denied entry also meant Iranian officials missed the Asian Football Confederation Congress, held in Vancouver this week. While Canada's immigration department hasn't commented on specific cases, it noted that both the U.S. and Canada have designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, banning its members from entering. It remains unclear which Iranian soccer officials may have purported IRGC ties.

This isn't the first hurdle for Iranian officials. Last December, they faced issues entering the U.S. for the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C. More recently, after joint U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the Iranian federation skipped FIFA workshops in Atlanta in early March. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the stance clear last week: Iran's players are welcome at the World Cup, but "they can't bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers."

Team Melli is scheduled to play two matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle this summer. If both Iran and the U.S. finish second in their respective groups, they could face off in the Round of 32 in Dallas on July 3—a matchup that would add even more drama to an already tense soccer landscape.