Andrew Giuliani, executive director of The White House FIFA Task Force, said on 20 June the United States would not ease the travel restrictions on Iran's squad for their Belgium fixture, which kicks off on 21 June.1 The players arrive in Los Angeles 24 hours before the match and fly the short hop back to Tijuana, Mexico, the same night, a protocol no other team at the tournament faces. Iran lodged a formal complaint with FIFA, football's 211-member governing body, arguing the arrangement breaches its equal-treatment obligations, and head coach Amir Ghalenoei called his side "the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup".2
Giuliani made the call on the record, as the official the host government appointed to run its side of the tournament, which is why it lands where FIFA cannot reach. FIFA recognises national federations as its counterparties, not governments. No clause in the competition rules lets it waive US immigration law for a fixture, so Iran's complaint creates a paper trail rather than a remedy.
That the two US bodies run on separate tracks is shown by the one case that broke Iran's way. The State Department, not the Task Force, issued midfielder Mehdi Torabi a new multiple-entry Visa around 17 June, after his single-entry document expired following the New Zealand match, restoring his availability for both remaining group games. Visa issuance sits with the State Department; the matchday protocol sits with the Task Force. Giuliani called the position "dynamic" and said the 25 June Egypt fixture would be reviewed once Belgium had been played.
