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Iran's football delegation, led by President Mehdi Taj, turned back from Toronto's airport due to mistreatment by Canadian immigration officials, causing them to miss the FIFA Congress in Vancouver.
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President of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj was leading the Iranian football delegation that travelled to Canada for the FIFA Congress [File: Atta Kenare/AFP]
â An Iranian football federation delegation says it turned back at Torontoâs main airport this week, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and is set to miss a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver.
Iranâs Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday that the delegation members, including federation President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy, Hamed Momeni, turned back â â upon arrival at Torontoâs Pearson airport despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the âunacceptable behaviour of immigration officialsâ.
The Iranian delegation was en route to Vancouver for Thursdayâs FIFA Congress, which is meant to bring together representatives of all 211 member associations before the World Cup being cohosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
âWhile Mehdi Taj, president, Hedayat Mombeni, secretary-general, and Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary-general of the federation, had travelled to Toronto â â with official visas to attend the FIFA Congress, they returned to Turkey on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nationâs armed forces,â the Iran football federation said in a statement.
In 2024, Canada listed Iranâs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with the IRGC.
âWhile we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,â the Canadian government said in a statement.
âWe have taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account and will continue to ââdo so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.â
However, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said it was her âunderstandingâ that Iranian football officials were denied entry into the country but added that the denial was âunintentionalâ.
âItâs not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but Iâll leave it to the minister to indicate,â Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
Canadaâs Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not speak about specific cases due to privacy legislation, but IRGC members were not welcome in Canada.
The Iranian football delegation turned back due to what they described as unacceptable behavior from Canadian immigration officials.
The key members include President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni, and Deputy Hamed Momeni.
The Iranian delegation was set to attend the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which precedes the World Cup.
Missing the FIFA Congress may affect Iran's representation and participation in discussions leading up to the World Cup cohosted by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

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The incident that occurred on Tuesday underscores the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iranâs participation in the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on FIFAâs agenda since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February.
Iranâs qualification has not removed hurdles tied to travel, visas and security in a tournament staged in three countries.
While FIFA has insisted fixtures will proceed as scheduled, the delegationâs withdrawal deepens doubts over whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across borders during the tournament.
FIFA has since contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident and indicated that President Gianni Infantino â â would arrange a meeting with them at the organisationâs headquarters, the Tasnim report added.
The FIFA Congress â â is usually a routine gathering, but carries greater weight this year with the World Cup less than two months away and several â â questions, including cost and Iranâs participation, still hanging over the first 48-team edition of the tournament.
The Iranian officials were also unable to attend Tuesdayâs Asian Football Confederation congress, which was held in Vancouver.