Two Iranian players and head coach Amir Ghalenoei criticised World Cup organisers for travel restrictions that they say are impacting the team’s preparations and performance at the tournament.
Speaking after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand, Ghalonoei, striker Mehdi Taremi and goalscorer Mohammad Mohebbi said that they were being forced to fly back to their base camp in Mexico hours after Monday’s match at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.
Taremi and Ghalenoei said that the team had hoped to do a recovery session on Tuesday in Los Angeles, the day after the match, but had been told they couldn’t.
“They have said we have to leave immediately,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “We are really troubled by that. We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest. It seems very strange. It seems others are doing the planning for us.”
He continued: “Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”
🔗
Olympiacos F.C.