Iran midfielder Mehdi Torabi was issued a single-entry US visa, unlike teammates on multiple-entry documents, and it expired after Iran's 15 June draw with New Zealand . His availability for Belgium on Sunday 21 June now depends on a re-issue by immigration authorities 1. The squad has said publicly it is "tired" of its treatment, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the dressing room after the New Zealand draw, telling the players he would try to help 2.
Until now the access story ran through fans and officials: ticket allocations revoked under sanctions , 14 federation staff barred from US entry, supporters' flags fought over in court. Torabi is the first documented mid-tournament lapse for a man on the pitch. The mechanism is the single-entry document itself, spent the moment its holder leaves the US after one match. Iran bases outside the country and crosses in on match days, which turns that paperwork detail into a fresh immigration clearance before every fixture.
That changes the nature of FIFA's exposure. The entry refusals that hit fans and staff were ones FIFA could route back to host-government sovereignty, its standing answer all tournament. A registered playing-squad member who cannot enter to play a fixture FIFA scheduled is harder to deflect, because the thing being degraded is the competition on the pitch. Unless the re-issue lands in time, Iran field a weaker XI in a game that may decide their group.
