Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), has called for FIFA to provide assurances that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will be protected from insults by the United States during the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 in June. This demand follows a recent incident where an FFIRI delegation led by Taj retreated from the Canadian border, citing disrespectful conduct by immigration authorities while attempting to reach the FIFA Congress in Vancouver.
Taj said the decision to return home had been their own choice but Canada’s immigration minister later confirmed to parliament that the FFIRI president’s visa had been cancelled while he was in the air because of his links to the IRGC.
What happened to the Iranian delegation in Canada?
Canada listed the IRGC, an elite military force whose purpose is to protect Shi’ite Muslim clerical rule in Iran, as a “terrorist entity” in 2024, five years after the U.S. did the same.
FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom sent a letter expressing regret at the “inconvenience and disappointment” the Iranians had experienced in Canada and inviting FFIRI to Zurich on May 20 for a meeting about their World Cup preparations.
Taj told state broadcaster IRIB on Tuesday that he would be seeking assurances from the governing body about the treatment of the Iranian delegation in the U.S.
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“It’s very clear, Iran will be there and our responsibility is to unite”. pic.twitter.com/rS5enMfD4u
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 30, 2026
“We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system — especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said on the sidelines of a pro-government night rally in Tehran.
“This is something they must pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and the responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what happened in Canada will not happen again.”
Why is Iran seeking guarantees from FIFA before the World Cup?
The U.S., Canada and Mexico are co-hosting the June 11 to July 19 World Cup with Iran scheduled to play two group games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the tournament but no one with ties to the IRGC would be admitted to the country.
Taj, who served as a high-ranking official with the IRGC in Isfahan Province before moving into soccer administration, said anything short of cast-iron guarantees could result in the Iranian delegation turning back at the U.S. border.
“We are going to the World Cup, for which we qualified, and our host is FIFA – not Mr. Trump or America,” he added.
“If they accept hosting us, then they must also accept that they must not insult our military institutions in any way.
“Because if they do, then naturally it could create the same kind of situation that happened in Canada, where there was a possibility we might have to return.
“So there must be this kind of guarantee so that we can go with peace of mind.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on the Islamic Republic in late February.
With Iranian top-flight football suspended, the home-based players have been in a training camp in Tehran preparing for the tournament.
Taj said the FFIRI were hoping to set up at least one friendly with a “very good team” in neighbouring Turkey, where Iran played matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica in late March.
(With inputs from Reuters)
