Coach says Iran still being treated poorly by US at World Cup ahead of second match

INGLEWOOD: Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei says that although his team is still being treated unfairly by the host US at the World Cup through travel restrictions and visa refusals, he is optimistic FIFA will persuade the Americans to lessen some of those strictures next week.
“I am very glad that the Iranian nation is behind us,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “Our martyrs in Iran, we play for them. But I know that this kind of behavior has hurt our people.

Even if we spent billions of dollars, we would not be able to have justice for our people. It just shows we are an oppressed country. But nevertheless, I hope we achieve peace, and I hope this kind of behavior does not become institutionalized in the World Cup.”
Iran returned to the Los Angeles area on Saturday for its second match against Belgium on Sunday, but Ghalenoei said he was forced to curtail his team’s training ahead of this difficult meeting with the No.

10 team in FIFA’s world rankings after his request to travel Friday was denied.
“We needed to have 24 hours (in Los Angeles), but they gave us less than 16 hours, and that is why we had to leave our training halfway,” Ghalenoei said. “These constraints have made it very difficult for us.”
Ghalenoei also appealed to the World Cup’s other teams and coaches to speak out against the treatment of the Iranian team.
“I ask the other 47 coaches a question, and none of them have responded to me,” he said. “We are here for football, not politics, and we are saying that again.

Our grievances are to the way they’ve behaved with us. I haven’t heard anything from other coaches (at the World Cup), and I’m sure they’re busy and preparing their own teams and we never expect them to have a reaction. But if I had seen