Canada ‘inadvertently’ denies Iran entry to FIFA Congress

OTTAWA, Ontario – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday that it is her “understanding” that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry to her country weeks before the FIFA congress began in Vancouver. World Cup.

Anand appeared to confirm a report from Tasnim, an Iranian news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but said the denial was “unintentional”.

Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry to Toronto’s Pearson Airport due to “inappropriate behavior by immigration officials.”

“It’s not my personal leadership, but my understanding is that the permit has been revoked. It was unintentional, but I’ll leave it to the minister to direct that,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.

Online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj was granted a visa on Monday and removed from Canada on Tuesday evening due to his links to the IRGC, a Canadian-listed terrorist entity.

An emailed response from Diab’s office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained officers.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government is clear and consistent: IRGC officials are unacceptable in Canada and have no place in our country,” said Diab’s press secretary Taus Ait.

The FIFA Congress convenes a few weeks before the start of the World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Representatives from each of soccer’s governing body’s 211 federations were expected to attend the event, which began on Thursday.

Iran Delegates were not present on Tuesday at the biggest official meeting of football leaders in Asia with Gianni Infantino ahead of this summer’s World Cup. There was no discussion at the Asian Football Confederation Congress on Iran’s participation in the tournament or whether the team’s games should be moved from the United States because of the dispute between the two countries.

There were concerns ahead of Thursday’s meeting that visa issues could affect the Iranian delegation’s ability to travel to Vancouver for the overall FIFA congress as well as the World Cup, which starts on June 11.

Iran is scheduled to begin World Cup play in Group G on June 15 before a match against New Zealand in Inglewood, California. Egypt And Belgium.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran’s status for the event.

This report uses information from The Associated Press.