Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj said Canadian officials cleared him to enter the country for the FIFA Congress, but Iran’s delegation chose to turn back after being held for ​three hours and questioned at a Toronto airport, Iranian media reported on Friday.

Taj, a ‌former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said he was questioned by Canadian immigration about his ties to the group, but was ultimately allowed into the country for the pre-World Cup gathering in Vancouver.

Canadian authorities ​have said members of the IRGC are prohibited from entering the country, which is ​set to co-host the World Cup from June along with the United ⁠States and Mexico.

“We all had visas and were even checked in Turkey. They told us they ​had questions for you and asked if we were members of the IRGC,” Iran’s semi-official news ​agency Tasnim quoted Taj as saying.

“We told them that there are 90 million IRGC members in Iran. They said that we don’t allow people from this organisation in. They said that it is the law of ​our country.

“After a while, they said you can enter, but we decided to return. They didn’t ​deport us, and we decided to return ourselves… I told the Canadians that you kept us at the ‌airport ⁠for three hours, you made us wait for nothing.”

Reuters has contacted Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which issues visas to travel to the country, for comment.

Taj said FIFA president Gianni Infantino had offered to send a jet to take the Iranian delegation to Canada after they returned to ​Turkey, but they refused.

“I ​told the FIFA secretary ⁠general (Mattias Grafstrom) that you are intimidated by America and that you say ‘yes, sir’ to whatever they say,” he said.

Reuters has reached out to FIFA ​for comment.

Infantino insisted on Thursday that Iran would play World Cup matches ​in the United ⁠States, despite tensions between the two countries since the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran in February. FIFA earlier rejected Tehran’s request for alternative venues for matches on U.S. soil.

“We need ⁠to ​hold a meeting with FIFA officials to ensure that if ​we are to come to the World Cup, there should be no side issues and controversies for our team,” Taj ​said about Iran’s participation.

-Reuters

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South Africa plan to arrive in Mexico almost a fortnight before the opening game of the World Cup in order to acclimatise to the ​altitude, coach Hugo Broos said.

Co-hosts Mexico open the tournament on June 11 ‌with a Group A match against South Africa at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which is 2,200m (7,216 feet) above sea level.

While most of the South African players are based at clubs ​in Johannesburg, which has an altitude of 1,753m, Broos says his squad need ​time to adjust to the conditions in Mexico before the opening ⁠game.

The squad will travel on May 30 to their base in Pachuca, which is ​around 200 metres higher than Mexico City. The city is less than 100 km ​from Mexico City.

“The first days it will be difficult to train at 100% because of the altitude, so that is what we will do in the second week,” Broos said in a radio ​interview.

South Africa plan to take on Nicaragua at home in a friendly on May ​29, although this is not confirmed, and are negotiating to have Puerto Rico as a warm-up ‌opponent ⁠for a second international scrimmage in Pachuca.

In their other World Cup group matches, South Africa will meet the Czech Republic in Atlanta on June 18 and South Korea in Monterrey on June 24, seeking to advance past the first round for the first time ​in their fourth World ​Cup appearance.

“It’s not ⁠an easy group for us. First of all, we will face the hosts in the opening game, at the Azteca Stadium, ​and it will be very difficult for us there,” Broos said ​earlier in ⁠the year.

But the veteran coach, who played for semi-finalists Belgium at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, has also previously predicted his side could cause some upsets at the tournament, ⁠which is ​also being played in Canada and the U.S.

South ​Africa and Mexico drew 1-1 at Soccer City in Johannesburg in the opening game of the 2010 World ​Cup, which South Africa hosted.

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Iran’s soccer team represents the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), not the ‌people of Iran, and FIFA should ban the team from participating in the upcoming World Cup, protesters gathered outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver said on Thursday.

“This is not Iran; this is the Islamic Republic’s team. This is IRGC’s ​team,” said Pouria Mahmoudi, an organiser with Mission for My Homeland, which brought together about 30 ​protesters draped in Iranian flags and holding signs supporting Iranian opposition figure Reza ⁠Pahlavi.

Demonstration placards are seen outside the Vancouver Convention Centre during the 76th FIFA Congress REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

“They’re here not to represent Iran. They’re here to normalise what’s happening in Iran, the massacre in ​Iran. So, no, they should not be in the World Cup,” he told Reuters.

Iran have qualified for ​the June 11-July 19 tournament but their participation has been fraught, with Tehran requesting alternative venues for matches on U.S. soil amid the nation’s two-month old conflict with the United States and Israel.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino reiterated on Thursday that he ​expected Iran to participate and play matches in the U.S., and U.S. President Donald Trump later in ​the day said he agreed with Infantino’s position.

A protester holds demonstration placards outside the Vancouver Convention Centre during the 76th FIFA Congress REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS

Anti-government protests in Iran in January were met with a brutal ‌crackdown ⁠by the state, in which thousands died. Mahmoudi said the carnage outweighed the desire of the players on the team to compete at the tournament.

“How about those are killed, the Iranian footballers, who are killed also? FIFA shouldn’t be quiet about them,” he said.

“People should speak up about the athletes who have been ​killed, especially the footballers. ​Russia was banned from ⁠the World Cup… so we expect FIFA to do the same.”

Iranian football federation officials, including president Mehdi Taj, were due to attend the gathering in Vancouver ​but turned back at Toronto airport after what Tehran described as “unacceptable behaviour” by Canadian ​immigration authorities, ⁠despite travelling with valid visas.

Canadian officials said entry decisions were made on a case-by-case basis and reiterated that individuals linked to the IRGC, which Ottawa designates as a terrorist organisation, were inadmissible.

Taj is a former member of ⁠the ​IRGC.

“The moment we heard that he was coming to Canada, ​we tried our best to deport him, and we’re happy that it happened,” Mahmoudi said.

“This is really great success for us. It ​shows that Iranian people, when they’re united, can do big things.”

-Reuters

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