Iran has reversed its boycott of the World Cup draw, with team representatives now due to attend the glitzy event in Washington DC on Friday.
Last week the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) said it would stay away after three members of its delegation were denied visas for entering the United States.
On Thursday, however, the Iranian sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, told the Iranian news agency Irna that the head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, would be among those attending. “Our representatives have a visa and should participate in the World Cup draw,” he said.
The Tehran Times suggested Ghalenoei would travel to the US with Omid Jamali, the head of the federation’s international relations department.
Iran is one of 19 countries whose citizens are restricted from entering the US, after a directive issued by Donald Trump in June. An exemption to the ban was granted to athletes, coaches or “persons performing a necessary support role” who were travelling for the World Cup. The Iranian federation said last week it had applied for seven visas but that three names had been rejected by the US, including the president of the FFIRI, Mehdi Taj.
Concerns remain over the possible effect of the travel ban on supporters of Iran and Haiti, who are also on the list, who wish to attend the tournament next year. Fifa has confirmed the creation of the Fifa Pass, a scheme that will allow World Cup ticket holders priority access to the visa application process before the tournament. But applications are not guaranteed to be successful.
This week a number of human rights organisations raised concerns over the possible mistreatment of fans from overseas or from minority communities at the World Cup. “The Trump administration has aggressively pursued a systematic anti-human rights campaign to target, detain and disappear immigrants in communities across the US – including the deployment of the National Guard in cities where the World Cup will take place,” said Jamil Dakwar, human rights director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
A spokesperson for the US State department said in relation to the distribution of visas for the World Cup: “We are doing everything we can to support a successful World Cup. At the same time, the Trump administration will not waver in upholding American law and the highest standards of national security and public safety in the conduct of our visa process. We generally will not comment on department actions with respect to specific cases.”
