Ghalenoei Accuses World Cup Managers of Silence Over Treatment

Date: 21 June 2026 - 23:05

News ID: ۱۵۱۱۵۷

TEHRAN - Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has claimed he has been shunned by the other 47 managers at the World Cup and said his squad had suffered further disruption after FIFA’s attempts to fix their latest travel chaos failed.
Iran flew into Los Angeles on Saturday lunchtime local time before their second Group G game against Belgium at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Ghalenoei – who said Iran felt “robbed” over their treatment by World Cup organizers – claimed none of his managerial counterparts at the tournament have responded to his questions.
“We have many challenges, especially off the pitch,” the Iran coach said. “I asked the 47 other coaches a question and none of them have responded to me.”
Asked if felt the support of the other nations, Ghalenoei added: “No, I have not seen that. I have not had any reaction from anyone.
“Our grievances are to do with the way they World Cup organizers have behaved towards us. I’ve not heard from other coaches, they are busy with their Ghalenoei also said that FIFA had contacted them on Friday to ask whether they would be ready to fly to the U.S. later that day only for the plan to come to nothing.
“FIFA phoned me and said: ‘Are you ready if we get you a flight at 6pm?’ I welcomed that but we sat and waited and waited,” he said. “We waited until 7pm, nothing happened. ‘OK, sorry, we weren’t able to do that.’ That’s going to affect us mentally, especially me as a head coach … I know FIFA is trying its best, I thank them for that but it doesn’t mean they have succeeded.”
Under FIFA rules, teams are only allowed to travel two days before a game in “exceptional” circumstances. Belgium were granted permission to fly into Los Angeles from their Seattle training base on Friday.
“It appears they may allow us to go to Seattle earlier,” said Ghalenoei, who claimed the disruption had forced him to cut a training session in half. “I wish they could have done it for the first two games, and allowed us to come two weeks before the first game, to arrive in optimal conditions. They robbed us of this opportunity.