ISTANBUL, June 6 — The United States (US) has yet to issue entry visas for several technical and administrative members of Iran’s national football team ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing Iran’s Fars News Agency.
According to a Fars report on Friday, some members of the team’s coaching and administrative staff have not received visas to enter the US, with the US Embassy reportedly declining to issue the documents so far.
Media reports earlier quoted a White House official as saying that Iranian players had received entry permits to the US approximately 10 days before their opening match in Los Angeles.
The developments came after Iranian officials announced that the national team’s players had received Mexican visas ahead of the World Cup, which the US, Canada, and Mexico will jointly host.
The visa issue has emerged as one of the main concerns for Iran ahead of the World Cup. Although the team is expected to be based in Tijuana, Mexico, all three of its Group G matches will be played in the US.
Iran has been holding a pre-World Cup training camp in the Turkish resort city of Antalya since May 19.
