Iranian soccer delegates denied entry to Canada for Vancouver FIFA congress

A delegation of Iranian football officials have been denied entry to Canada ahead of this week's FIFA conference, but Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has suggested the refusal might have been unintentional.

Anand's comments come after Iranian media reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and his delegation were turned away after landing at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Tuesday night.

The incident risks creating new friction between Iran and Canada exactly six weeks before the start of the World Cup as global tensions remain high over the fragile ceasefire between United States and Iran.

Taj is a former commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Canada has listed as a terrorist entity since 2024. The entire delegation has now returned home, calling the incident an insult.

Iran International, the agency that first broke the story, reported sources within the Canadian government as saying Taj had been issued a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), which would have allowed him to to enter Canada for the conference in Vancouver.

When asked about the denial of entry on Wednesday, Anand said the matter was under Immigration Minister Lena Diab's portfolio.

"It's not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but I'll leave it to the minister to indicate," Anand said.

The Iranian delegation was enroute to the 76th FIFA congress in Vancouver. The event brings together 211 national soccer federation members of FIFA, the world governing body for the sport. The event is seen as a warm-up to the 2026 men’s World Cup that is being co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico starting in June. 

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