Published April 30, 2026
A delegation from the Iranian Football Federation turned away at Toronto’s main airport this week due to treatment by Canadian immigration authorities and announced they will be absent from the pre-World Cup FIFA meeting in Vancouver.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday that members of the delegation, including federation president Mehdi Taj, secretary-general Hedayat Mombeni and deputy secretary-general Hamed Momeni, were turned away after arriving at Toronto’s Pearson Airport due to “unacceptable behavior of immigration officials” despite having valid visas.
The Iranian delegation was on its way to Vancouver to attend Thursday’s FIFA General Assembly. The FIFA General Assembly aims to bring together representatives of the 211 member associations ahead of the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
“President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni and Deputy Secretary-General Hamed Momeni were in Toronto on official visas to attend the FIFA General Assembly, but due to unacceptable behavior by immigration officials at the airport and an insult to one of the most honorable institutions of the Iranian Armed Forces, they returned to Turkey on the first available flight,” the Iranian Football Federation said in a statement. said in a statement.
In 2024, Canada designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and a Canadian government statement indicated that Mr. Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties to the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“While we are unable to comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, our government has been clear and consistent: Revolutionary Guards personnel cannot enter Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said in a statement.
“We have taken, and will continue to take, strong action to hold the Revolutionary Guards to account, while keeping Canadians safe and preserving the integrity of our immigration system.”
However, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she “understood” that Iranian soccer personnel had been denied entry, but added that the denial was “unintentional.”
“My understanding is that there will be a revocation of the permit, although it was not my personal initiative. It was not intentional, but I will leave it to the minister to indicate that,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangary said he could not discuss specific incidents due to privacy laws, but that Revolutionary Guards members are not welcome in Canada.
Tuesday’s incident highlighted the practical and political obstacles to Iran’s participation in the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on FIFA’s agenda since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.
Iran’s eligibility does not remove travel, visa and security hurdles for the tournament, which will be held in three countries.
FIFA insists the games will go ahead as scheduled, but the delegation’s withdrawal deepens questions about whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across the border during the tournament.
FIFA then contacted the Iranian delegation to express its regret over the incident and president Gianni Infantino indicated his intention to arrange a meeting at the Iranian delegation’s headquarters, the Tasnim report added.
The FIFA conference is usually a regular gathering, but it takes on even more significance this year as the World Cup is less than two months away and several questions still remain over the initial 48-team tournament, including cost and Iran’s participation.
Iranian officials were also unable to attend the Asian Football Confederation meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday.
