Iran Soccer Officials Denied Entry at Toronto Airport

Iranian soccer federation officials were denied entry at Toronto's airport despite holding valid visas, prompting their immediate return home and absence from key pre-World Cup meetings in Canada.

Three top officials, including federation president Mehdi Taj, secretary general Hedayat Mombeini and deputy Hamed Momeni, arrived on Tuesday to attend the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Congress in Vancouver and the FIFA Congress scheduled for Thursday. According to reports, inappropriate behavior by Canadian immigration officials led the delegation to board the next available flight back to Iran. The incident occurred ahead of the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

FIFA officials contacted the Iranian federation to express regret and informed them that President Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting at FIFA headquarters. At the AFC Congress, presided over by Infantino, Iranian representatives were absent, and no discussion took place on Iran's World Cup participation or requests to relocate its matches from U.S. venues. Awards presented to the nine AFC qualifiers were set aside for Iran to receive later.