Iran's Football Federation announced that it filed an official protest before FIFA over the restrictions the national team has suffered on its travels to the United States prior to its World Football Cup games.
The Federation had asked to go to Los Angeles two days before the game of the coming Sunday against Belgium, since the match is scheduled for 12 noon, seeking to have the necessary time for players to acclimatize and rest. However, its request was rejected by the US authorities.
"The Football Federation of Iran considers that these restrictions are incompatible with the principle of equal conditions of competition for participating teams and could affect the technical and competitive preparation of missions," the organisation said in an official announcement in which it complements: "As such, the Federation, while expressing its dissatisfaction with this decision, submitted its protest to FIFA through official channels".
This same situation had been repeated in last week's game against New Zealand, when US authorities allowed Iran's national team to travel just one day before the center.
Iran denounces a number of problems in the conduct of its struggles in the United States. In fact, the Asian country national team has installed its coaching centre and the basis of its operations for the World Cup in Tijuana, Mexico, which is located at the border with the US.
According to Iranian authorities, fifteen members of the mission, as well as several members of the technical and administrative staff, did not receive the necessary permission to enter American territory.
In addition, before the start of the world cup, the Federation had denounced that the United States revoked its race tickets according to FIFA regulations, in an attempt to prevent Iranian fans from being present on the stands.
This is the fourth consecutive World Cup event in which Iran gives the "present" as well as the seventh time it participates overall in its history. However, he has never been able to qualify beyond the first phase of the groups.
So far, neither FIFA nor the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have given any official response to the Iranian complaint.