With Iran’s participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup still up in the air amidst the backdrop of war between the Middle Eastern nation and the U.S. and Israel, the president of their football federation has been refused entry to Canada.
The co-hosts of this summer’s tournament, along with the U.S. and Mexico, will host the FIFA Congress on Thursday in Vancouver, where Iran’s soccer boss, Mehdi Taj, was planning to be in attendance.
However, shortly after landing in Toronto along with Secretary General Hedayat Mombeini as well as his deputy Hamed Momeni, Taj found himself being questioned by local authorities, after which he was forced to return to Iran, as per Iran International.
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Taj was previously a commander within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Canada officially designated a terrorist entity two years ago.
After denying Taj’s entry into Canada, the national immigration ministry opted against specifically naming him in line with privacy laws, adding that people entering the nation on visas would be dealt with on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.
It did, however, reaffirm its stance that anybody with links to the aforementioned corps would not be permitted to enter the nation.
“The government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” the ministry said.
It went on to add, “We have taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account and will continue to do so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.”
That being said, Taj had supposedly previously been granted the necessary paperwork - a Temporary Resident Permit, to be precise - to head to Canada, making the situation all the more confusing.
This all follows comments from the Canadian Senate’s opposition leader, Leo Housakos, who said on Tuesday of the Taj situation, “Your government can't seem to show the IRGC the door, but it can find a way to roll out the welcome mat and receive him.
“Leader, why is your government still unable or unwilling to enforce Canada's terrorism-related inadmissibility rules? What's the point of listing the IRGC if you're not serious about throwing him out of our country?”
The denial of Taj's entry was ultimately confirmed by the Tasnim News Agency, via Reuters, with the semi-official agency claiming that the delegation had been subject to "inappropriate behaviour of immigration officials."
The delegation has subsequently been contacted by FIFA, which is said to have expressed 'regret' regarding the situation, claiming that the organization's president, Gianni Infantino, would meet with them in Zürich, Switzerland, at their headquarters. The global governing body of soccer did not offer a response when asked to comment on the matter by Reuters.
Where this leaves Iran regarding its participation in the World Cup remains unclear. Recently, the nation’s Minister for Sport, Ahmad Donyamali, told Anadolu that they believe their request to have all of their team’s games moved to Mexico remained “valid,” via Reuters.
“Our request to FIFA to relocate Iran's games from the U.S. to Mexico is still valid, but we have not yet received a response. If accepted, Iran's participation in the World Cup will be certain. However, FIFA has not yet responded.
“As the Minister of Sports, together with the Iranian football federation, we will keep the football team ready for the World Cup. However, the final decision will be made by our government.” Infantino has previously turned down the notion of moving Iran's games from the U.S. to Mexico.