Iran captain Mehdi Taremi has launched a stunning attack on FIFA and suggested his team believe World Cup organizers would rather they were knocked out of the tournament.
Iran’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the very first time ever hang in the balance after a dramatic 1-1 draw with Egypt in the controversial ‘Pride Match’ in Seattle.
The team’s World Cup campaign has been dogged by travel and visa restrictions as well as weeks of mudslinging between Iranian officials and US authorities.
Following Iran’s opening draw against New Zealand, Taremi branded the World Cup a ‘disaster’ and he reiterated those claims on Friday before slamming FIFA for ‘doing nothing’ to help his team.
‘We always complain about these things since the beginning, it’s a disaster World Cup. A disaster,’ he said.
‘As professional players in a professional competition, it’s not right… it’s not fair… if it’s fair for FIFA, okay good for them. But it’s not fair. Who wants to help us… no one helps. No one.’
Mehdi Taremi claimed Iran’s players feel World Cup chiefs would rather they are knockout out
Iran’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages hang in the balance after a draw with Egypt
He added: ‘Who has to solve this problem for us? Who? FIFA? I don’t know. USA. I don’t know – just mention one name for me.
‘[FIFA president Gianni] Infantino came to [our locker room] the first game [against New Zealand] and said we will solve every problem here, but actually FIFA did nothing.’
After war broke out with the US and Israel earlier this year, around a dozen members of Iran’s World Cup delegation were denied visas to America. The team was also forced to move its training base to Mexico.
During an astonishing press conference in Seattle, Taremi was asked whether he felt World Cup organizers – including FIFA and the US authorities – would prefer Iran to be knocked out.
‘We have to fight against everything here. I don’t know if people want [that] or not but as we see it by our perspective, yeah, they are like that I think,’ he said.
