Iran fans dismayed by team’s World Cup visa quarrel
TIJUANA: Iran’s national football team was greeted Sunday in Mexico by a small group of supporters eager to give them a warm start to the World Cup, despite visa problems facing some staffers. “I’m very excited to see them,” said Sadegh Galavi as he watched the players’ bus leave the airport in Tijuana, cheered on by about a dozen fans. Galavi, a mechanic and resident of this city on the US border, did not hesitate to get up at dawn to welcome the team when it landed at 5:00 am. “My national team is coming to my city, and being here is a small thing I can do just to welcome them,” the man in his thirties told AFP, proudly wearing the white jersey with green and red trim of the Iranian side, known as “Team Melli.” The gesture felt especially important because the tournament is beginning under difficult circumstances for Iran. While the players obtained the visas necessary to enter the United States and play their group-stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle, not all delegation members received them. About 15 accompanying officials were denied visas, including Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj, who previously served in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designated a terrorist group by Washington. Unshakable faith “It makes no sense to me,” Galavi complained.
