Iran Accuses US of Revoking Its World Cup Ticket Quota, Urges FIFA to Maintain Fairness

(Tehran, June 9, AFP) The Iranian Football Federation today accused the United States, one of this year's World Cup host nations, of revoking Iran's ticket allocation for the group stage, deliberately obstructing Iranian fans from attending matches under the shadow of intense diplomatic conflict between the two countries.

According to Agence France-Presse, the US and Iran have been in a state of war since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Iran has accused the US of imposing multiple administrative barriers related to the World Cup, including refusing to issue visas to some of Iran's team support staff.

In a statement, the Iranian Football Federation said: "With less than three days to go before the opening of the 2026 World Cup, ... the United States has once again taken action to obstruct Iranian fans from entering the stadiums for the national team's three group stage matches."

The federation pointed out that under FIFA regulations, participating nations in each match should be allocated 8% of the tickets, which are then sold to fans by the respective national federations through official channels.

According to the federation's statement, they had already started selling tickets after receiving the allocation for the three group stage matches held in the United States against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt, and some Iranian fans had already made necessary travel arrangements.

"However, in an unexpected move, the tickets allocated to the Iranian Football Federation have been revoked, and under the current circumstances, the federation cannot even provide a single ticket to the national team's fans."

The Iranian federation described the move as "a violation of the spirit of international sports and the principle of equality among participating nations."

The federation called on FIFA and the tournament organizers to "uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations, and to provide the necessary conditions for Iranian fans to watch the games."

Both FIFA and the US organizers have yet to publicly respond to Iran's accusations.