Published On 1/5/2026
The President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, explained the reasons for not entering Canada with his companions to attend the FIFA Congress, which was held yesterday, Thursday, despite allowing them to enter.
Mehdi Taj was reported by Iranian media as saying that Canadian immigration authorities questioned him about his relationship with the Revolutionary Guards, but he was eventually allowed into the country to attend the FIFA pre-World Cup meeting in Vancouver.
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Canadian authorities said that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are prohibited from entering the country, which is scheduled to host the World Cup from June 11 to July 19, jointly with the United States and Mexico.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Taj as saying, “We all had entry visas and even had our papers checked in Turkey. They told us they had questions for us and asked us if we were members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”
Taj added, “I told them that I am not a politician, but the Canadian official was saying that you are engaging in a political discussion, and after a while, they told us that we could enter, but we decided to return. They did not deport us, but rather we made the decision to return ourselves.”
Conditions for participation in the World Cup
The Iranian Football Federation strongly criticized FIFA, as it intends to set conditions for participation in the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next June and July.
The Iranian Tasnim News Agency quoted the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, as saying: “I have never seen FIFA act so weakly before.” Taj explained that FIFA must prevent US President Donald Trump from interfering in sporting affairs during the World Cup.
He added that the Iranian team qualified well, and that Trump “is not in a position to determine whether the team is allowed to participate in the World Cup or not,” stressing that his country does not need permission from Washington to participate in the tournament.
Taj also stated that the Federation intends to determine its own conditions for participating in the World Cup during a meeting with FIFA representatives.
Among other things, the Iranian Football Federation seeks to ensure that no political comments are directed against the national team or the federation during matches, the use of the official flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the provision of comprehensive security for players and the technical and administrative staff.
He said: “FIFA must guarantee this to us, and we will only participate under these conditions.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been called into question since the escalation of the conflict with the United States and Israel. The Iranian national team is in the seventh group of the World Cup, alongside the national teams of Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.
