分类： sports

As one of the qualified teams competing in football’s biggest global tournament, Iran’s national squad, commonly known as Team Melli, has emerged as one of the unlikeliest stories of this World Cup — not for on-pitch performance, but for a cascade of off-field obstacles that players and coaching staff blame on politically motivated restrictions imposed by United States authorities. The roster and support personnel have faced repeated logistical disruptions and entry barriers since the tournament launched last week, with the team’s leadership saying these hurdles have directly undermined their ability to prepare properly for matches.

The most recent disruption followed the team’s opening intercontinental playoff against New Zealand in Los Angeles this Monday. Immediately after the final whistle, the squad was ordered to depart the city the same day to return to their pre-tournament base camp in Mexico, a mandatory move that upended the team’s planned recovery schedule. Speaking to reporters after the match, striker Mehdi Taremi and goalscorer Mohammad Mohebi confirmed the last-minute travel order was not the team’s choice; the squad had arranged to stay an extra day in Los Angeles to hold a low-intensity recovery session to help players recover from match fatigue. “They have said we have to leave immediately,” Iranian head coach Amir Ghalenoei confirmed in his remarks to the press.

The rushed post-match travel is far from the only logistical issue the team has encountered. Ahead of the New Zealand match, the squad was also forced to adjust their travel plans, only arriving in Los Angeles 24 hours before kickoff — a day later than the team had originally scheduled. The tight timeline left players with almost no time to acclimate to the time change and venue before taking the pitch. Ghalenoei described the cumulative disruption as deeply disorienting for the squad, noting “We are really troubled by that. We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest. It seems very strange. It seems others are doing the planning for us. Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.” Taremi echoed that frustration, adding that “Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us.”

When the squad finally arrived in Los Angeles for the match, they were also met by a small protest organized by members of the Iranian diaspora, who displayed American, Israeli, and pre-1979 revolution Iranian flags. According to Taremi, the visa and travel restrictions facing the team were put in place months before the tournament even began, and the squad has grown exhausted of navigating the constant barriers. An anonymous official from the Iranian Football Federation confirmed that 11 members of the team’s official delegation have been denied entry to the United States, a gap that has left the squad short of key off-field support. “Our president isn’t here, our media isn’t here, many of our management team aren’t here,” Ghalenoei explained.

According to reporting from The Athletic, even the team’s post-match press conference addressing these issues was interrupted, with FIFA officials attempting to cut the interview short as players and the head coach outlined their frustrations to assembled journalists. After the match, FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the Iranian team in their locker room to acknowledge their struggles. Taremi told reporters that while Infantino has expressed a willingness to assist, the core issues stem from outside of FIFA’s control, hinting that US political pressure is the root cause of the restrictions. “For sure, he wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things too. You know, everyone knows. (I don’t) need to mention that, because you know where we are,” Taremi said. Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported that Infantino told the squad “I know what you go through, I understand. But you are stronger than everything, and you send a strong message to the entire world.” In response, Ghalenoei pushed for FIFA to take a stronger stance to protect the team from non-sporting political interference.

The disruptions to the Iranian squad extend beyond travel and visa issues. Just days before the tournament kicked off, FIFA revoked the Iranian Football Federation’s allocated ticket allotment — equal to 8% of the relevant stadium capacity — at the last minute, barring most Iranian supporters from attending the team’s matches in person. The Iranian federation directly blamed US pressure for FIFA’s decision, saying in a statement that “The United States has now taken steps to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums. The incident raises serious questions about the influence of non-sporting and political considerations on the organisation of the world’s biggest football event.”

Despite the string of obstacles, the Iranian team has stressed that the unfair treatment will not stop them from putting forward their best performance in the tournament. Taremi emphasized that the situation is not just bad for his squad, but for the integrity of global football itself. “It’s not good for us, you know? It’s not good for football, because in a World Cup, you have to prepare well for the next game, because it is a lot of stress for the players, staff, and everyone. But we don’t have that support, and I think Fifa has to help us more than this,” he told reporters.

As Tunisia’s national football team prepares to step onto the pitch in Kansas City for their third group-stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 25, one of the side’s most loyal followers will be forced to watch from afar, stuck in Mexico after U.S. entry requirements derailed his long-planned journey.

Mohamed Sadok Fradi, a 35-year-old diehard supporter who has followed the “Eagles of Carthage” to the past two World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar, has had his streak of attending every major tournament cut short by the Trump administration’s stringent travel restrictions for citizens of several Middle Eastern and African nations, including Tunisia. Fradi, who has long viewed the World Cup as a unique global force that brings people of all backgrounds together, says the current U.S. rules are not just unnecessarily burdensome—they directly contradict the unifying spirit the tournament is meant to embody.

“I declined to even apply for a U.S. visa because I refuse to accept that football fans have to jump through all these unnecessary hoops just to cheer on their team,” Fradi told Middle East Eye in an interview from Monterrey, where Tunisia played their first two group-stage matches. “A fan should be able to simply buy a ticket, grab their flag, and go support their country. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

When the World Cup kicked off across the three co-host nations of the U.S., Mexico and Canada last week, thousands of Tunisian fans made the long journey to North America, packing the streets of Monterrey in bright red team jerseys, waving massive national flags and beating traditional drums to rally for their side. But for hundreds of these traveling supporters, the adventure has stopped at the U.S. border.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, the U.S. has implemented sweeping travel bans targeting multiple majority-Muslim and African countries, alongside steep increases in visa processing fees. Earlier this year, Washington expanded its contentious Visa Bond Program, which requires travelers from 50 nations—including Tunisia—to put down deposits of as much as $15,000 to receive a tourist visa, with the entire sum forfeited if a visitor overstays their approved entry period.

While the U.S. State Department eventually issued a limited waiver exempting World Cup ticket holders from the bond requirement and offered priority visa processing through FIFA, this exemption only applied to fans who submitted their applications before an April 15 deadline. Thousands of fans missed the cutoff, leaving them stuck with no path to enter the country for the match.

Fradi, who traveled 23 hours from Qatar to reach Monterrey and is still adjusting to the journey, called the U.S. process exclusionary, and a direct contradiction to FIFA’s core slogan that “football unites the world.” His experience at the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar World Cups, where both host nations streamlined entry for all ticket holders, made the current barriers even more disappointing, he said.

“This is the third World Cup I’ve attended, always following the national team, but it has never been as difficult or complicated as it is with the U.S.,” Fradi said. “This tournament has so many unnecessary complications when it comes to access and hospitality. I wish Mexico were hosting the entire World Cup on its own—only Mexico.”

Many Tunisian fans have echoed Fradi’s praise for Mexico’s streamlined entry process, which saw Tunisian citizens wait less than a month for tourist visas. Travelers holding valid visas or permanent residency from the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K. or any Schengen Area country are even granted full entry exemptions, making the cross-country trip from Monterrey to Kansas City far less stressful for the few fans able to go.

Anwar Sbissi, a Tunisian fan who is a Canadian citizen and plans to attend the Kansas City match, warned that the energy in the stadium will never feel the same without the full traveling contingent of Tunisian supporters. He added that the $15,000 bond requirement pushed countless fans to cancel their trips, meaning the stands will likely be dominated by Tunisian supporters already living in the U.S. rather than the traveling fan base that has followed the team across the tournament.

Anis Ghozzi, a Tunisian expatriate based in Montreal, is going a step further and boycotting the U.S. leg of the tournament entirely. Holding a Free Palestine flag at pre-match celebrations in Monterrey’s popular Barrio Antiguo district ahead of Tunisia’s opening game, Ghozzi cited multiple reasons for his boycott, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and recent tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada and Mexico.

“I’d rather spend my money here in Mexico than put a cent into the U.S.,” he said.

Even for fans who have managed to secure a valid U.S. visa, uncertainty remains. U.S. border officials retain full authority to deny entry to any traveler, even those with approved documentation, and recent high-profile incidents—including Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan being turned away at Miami International Airport—have amplified fears of last-minute denials.

Faten Drira, a traveling fan who plans to cross into the U.S. with her husband after Tunisia’s matches in Monterrey, says she still has no idea if her visa will be enough to guarantee entry.

“I hope I can go to America,” she said in a nervous tone. “I understand they don’t accept everyone. I have my visa, but we’ll see.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino sought to downplay concerns ahead of the tournament, telling reporters after a May meeting with Trump administration officials that the U.S. would be open to the world during the World Cup. But the on-the-ground experience for hundreds of Tunisian fans tells a different story, turning a unifying global celebration into a source of frustration and disappointment for supporters who just wanted to cheer on their team.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Headingley, Leeds delivered two lopsided group-stage results on Wednesday, headlined by a career-defining all-round performance from India’s Shafali Verma that silenced recent critics and secured the biggest run victory in India’s Women’s World Cup history.

India faced the Netherlands in the first-ever T20 meeting between the two sides, and the Indian batting unit turned in a historic performance, posting a tournament-best total of 209 for five off their 20 overs. The outing belonged to Verma, who entered the match facing growing questions over her 2024 form: her average this year sat at just 23.13 runs, a sharp drop from 52.12 in 2023 when she reestablished her reputation as one of the game’s most dangerous big hitters. After a disappointing six-run dismissal against Pakistan in her prior outing, Verma bounced back to score her first fifty of the tournament, finishing with 55 off 34 balls that included 10 fours. She was dropped in the cover field exactly as she brought up her half-century, and her opening stand with star Smriti Mandhana reached 115 runs in the 12th over before the partnership broke.

Mandhana matched Verma’s aggressive form, notching back-to-back World Cup fifties with 74 runs off 47 balls, highlighted by four consecutive boundaries off Dutch bowler Silver Siegers. After India’s batting set an imposing target, the team’s spin attack dismantled the Netherlands’ batting order, with Verma adding another layer to her historic day: the 25-year-old finished with three wickets for 20 runs from her off-spin, making her only the third player in Women’s World Cup history to score a half-century and take three wickets in a single match, joining West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and South Africa’s Sune Luus. Slow left-armer Shree Charani put the finishing touches on the collapse, taking four wickets for 19 runs including three wickets in a single over, as the Netherlands slumped from a solid 96-3 to be all out for 114 in 17.3 overs. The 95-run margin marked India’s largest victory by runs in any Women’s T20 World Cup to date.

Speaking after the match, Verma addressed her recent form slump, saying: “Happy to be back with some runs. I just practiced hard to get my shots again. When balls were not coming on I just went for singles so it was a mature innings.”

In the earlier match on the same Headingley pitch, six-time tournament champions Australia maintained their unbeaten start to the competition, chasing down a low Bangladesh total of 77 for eight in just 9.3 overs to secure a nine-wicket win. On an overcast day suited to seam bowling, Australia’s bowlers dominated from the first over, with Kim Garth taking two wickets in the powerplay, while captain Sophie Molineux and star all-rounder Ellyse Perry, named player of the match, each claimed two wickets. Bangladesh collapsed to 27 for five by the eighth over, flirting with their own World Cup record low total of 46, but battled through to pass the mark in the 15th over. Opener Georgia Voll bounced back from a duck on her tournament debut against South Africa to finish unbeaten on 45 off 32 balls, including a towering six over the bowler’s head, to guide Australia to an early victory. Australia will next face the Netherlands on Saturday.

Injury updates emerged as a major side story on the day, with multiple key players sidelined for upcoming matches. Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield, who opened the tournament with a 50 against South Africa, will miss the next three matches with a quadriceps injury, while star all-rounder Ash Gardner missed the Bangladesh clash with an ankle sprain. Host nation England suffered a significant blow, as captain Nat Sciver-Brunt will miss two matches after re-injuring her left calf; she was forced to retire hurt on 48 against Ireland on Tuesday. India also lost young all-rounder Shreyanka Patil during Wednesday’s match, after she appeared to twist her ankle and had to be carried from the field.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana acknowledged her side’s struggles in the batting department after the defeat, noting that the team has faced long-term challenges developing power-hitting talent: “We have been looking for a few players like power hitters. It’s pretty difficult to find batters like that.”

In the opening fixture of a three-match Twenty20 international series between Australia and Bangladesh hosted in Chattogram on Wednesday, a disciplined spin attack from the visitors laid the foundation for a four-wicket victory, with slow bowlers Adam Zampa and Joel Davies sharing six wickets between them to dismantle the home side’s batting lineup.

A notable milestone also marked the match: leg-spinner Nikhil Chaudhary, the first India-born male cricketer to earn a cap for Australia’s national team in six decades, chipped in with one wicket to cap his historic appearance. Australia’s spin unit dominated from the middle overs onward, bowling Bangladesh all out for just 131 runs inside 19 overs.

Chasing a modest total, Australia got off to a rocky start, losing returning opener Mitchell Marsh — who was back in the side after missing the preceding ODI series with an ankle injury — and fellow opener Josh Inglis in quick succession. But Cooper Connolly, whose match-winning 149 in the final ODI rescued Australia from a potential series sweep just days prior, stepped up again to anchor the run chase. Striking four fours and three sixes, the batter compiled a steady 47 runs to steer Australia closer to the target.

Connolly shared a valuable 40-run third-wicket partnership with Tim David, who contributed 20 runs, before he was caught off the bowling of Abdul Gaffar, who claimed his maiden international wicket on his T20 debut. The left-arm fast bowler finished his opening outing with strong figures of 2 wickets for 32 runs. Australia ultimately crossed the finish line in 18.2 overs, finishing on 133 for 6 to claim the first win of the series.

For Bangladesh, the match was played under new leadership: regular captain Litton Das was forced out of the fixture with a calf injury sustained in the third ODI, forcing Tawhid Hridoy to step in as stand-in skipper. Hridoy won the pre-match toss and opted to bat first, but the decision failed to pay off, as no home batter could mount a sustained resistance against Australia’s controlled spin attack. While Bangladesh got off to a promising start at 39 for 1 after the first five overs, Zampa and Davies sparked a dramatic batting collapse that saw the home side lose seven wickets for just 60 runs, capping their disastrous batting performance.

The second match of the three-match T20 series is scheduled to take place this Friday, with Bangladesh looking to bounce back and level the series before the deciding final fixture.

A veteran sports commentator has lost his spot on Turkey’s national public broadcaster TRT’s 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage team over an on-air gaffe that mixed up two competing Group G teams, broadcaster officials confirmed this week.

The error unfolded during Monday’s tightly contested Group G match between Iran and New Zealand, which ended in a 2-2 draw between the two sides. In the opening minutes of TRT’s live broadcast, commentator Murat Ekrem Çimen, a 30-year veteran of sports media named by local Turkish outlets, incorrectly attributed Iran’s offensive plays to New Zealand and mislabeled New Zealand’s in-game maneuvers as Iran’s.

In an official statement released late Tuesday, TRT announced that Çimen had been immediately removed from the network’s World Cup commentary delegation based in the United States, and will not take part in any further match coverage for the duration of the tournament. The network added that a full internal investigation into the incident is ongoing.

TRT framed the mistake as a clear violation of the network’s official broadcasting standards, noting that the error was particularly notable given Çimen’s decades of experience in sports journalism. “We apologize to our viewers and the public for this error,” the statement read. “It is unacceptable for TRT that someone with over 30 years of experience in sports broadcasting would make such a mistake.”