Iran’s football federation said on Thursday it would file a complaint with Fifa alleging its team was subject to travel restrictions during the World Cup in North America.
Iran wanted to fly from their camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before their next match, against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.
But a spokesman for the Iranian federation said his request was rejected.
“Despite submitting its preparation schedule for the tournament early, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organizers, affecting the implementation of the plans of its technical staff,” the spokesman said.
“Given that the game will be played at 12pm Los Angeles time (Monday 3am, Hong Kong time), the Iran Football Federation requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match.”
It said the aim of his request was to allow the players to “get used to match conditions, complete their final training session, and complete preparations”.
