The president of the international soccer federation FIFA, Gianni Infantino, made a surprise appearance in the locker room of the Iranian national team on Monday night to offer words of support and comfort following a 2-2 tie against New Zealand in the World Cup.
Infantino was welcomed with a flurry of complaints about the “unfair” conditions the team was playing in as a result of the country’s status as the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism, complicating entry into the United States. He nonetheless insisted that he understood the team’s struggled and expressed admiration for their presence in the event.
“I know what you go through, I understand, but you are stronger than everything,” the FIFA leader told the team in the locker room, “and you send a strong message to the entire world — like tonight, you united the whole stadium here, you united the whole stadium here behind you, behind Team Melli. You are showing to the world and sending such a strong message, so thank you.”
Infantino’s claim that the stadium was united behind the team was not consistent with reports at the event in Los Angeles. In addition to the New Zealand fans not supporting “Team Melli,” clashes were documented among the Iranian fans themselves between Iranian-Americans who despise the murderous regime that controls their home country and supporters of the regime. In addition to the physical altercations, many Iranians who came to the event did so not to support the team representing the “Islamic Republic,” but to raise awareness about the outrageous repression of Iranians at home, including the mass killing of an estimated 30,000 to 45,000 people this year in response to widespread protests.
Elsewhere in his comments, Infantino comforted the team by stating that, “with a bit more luck, you would win” against New Zealand.
“You showed — to your families, to your friends, to your people, to the world — that you are in the World Cup,” he continued, “that you perform and you have two more games to go. And in these two games that you have to go, you will make again everyone in the world proud of what you do. Thank you for being here.”
The FIFA chief also jokingly offered to play striker for the team, though he has not professionally played soccer in the past.
In videos shared of Infantino’s visit to the locker room, Iranian team coach Amir Ghalenoei followed up Infantino’s comments by objecting to the conditions imposed on his team by the visa situation, calling it an “injustice.”
“We were supposed to be here for at least two weeks, but they… didn’t even let us come here two days earlier. And another injustice they did to us was that we needed to recover after the game, but they forced us to return on the next day,” Ghalenoei explained, declaring Iran “the most oppressed team” at the tournament.
America, Canada, and Mexico are jointly hosting the World Cup, widely considered one of the world’s most prestigious sporting competitions, and Iran’s “group” in the first stage of the tournament is playing out of Los Angeles. Due to visa complications, however, the team is headquartered in Tijuana, Mexico, and flying into the United States for the duration of their three games. They are not the only teams flying from their training base to games, however; the American team, despite being on home turf, is expected to fly from California to Seattle, Washington, for matches.
The Iranian team’s coach and players have repeatedly complained that the setup does not allow them proper recovery time between matches or the ability to schedule training the same way that its competitors can. The Iranian team reportedly petitioned FIFA to move its matches to Mexico to avoid issues with entering the United States, but FIFA leaders refused to move the group — which also includes New Zealand, Egypt, and Belgium — to Mexico. The federation has not at press time explained why having Iran play in Mexico was not possible. Teams playing in Mexico include the host country, Japan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Sweden, and South Korea — none of which have been engaged in war against the United States in the past year.
In addition to some disputes among fans at the match, Iran’s first game at the World Cup did not pass without controversy. During the 2-2 match against New Zealand, Iranian scorer Mohammad Mohibi made headlines after tying the match with a goal by celebrating with hand gestures that some claimed were meant to simulate shooting a gun into the crowd. As many in the crowd were openly displaying symbols and messages against the Iranian regime, some interpreted the goal celebration as a violent gesture towards those who oppose the regime that Mohibi is representing at the soccer tournament.
Iran must play Belgium and Egypt next within its group. As the Belgium-Egypt match on Monday also resulted in a tie game, all teams in this group are tied with one point in the greater competition to get out of the group stage of the tournament.