Iran say winger Torabi gets multi-entry US visa for World Cup games
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June 16 : The Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) said Mehdi Torabi received a multi-entry visa for the United States on Tuesday after his previous one expired when he left the country in the wake of the team's World Cup opener in Los Angeles.
The Iran national team are commuting from their tournament base in the Mexican border city of Tijuana for their three World Cup group-stage matches, the first two in Los Angeles and the third in Seattle.
The FFIRI said earlier on Tuesday that while most of the squad had multi-entry visas, Torabi's was valid only for one entry and they were trying to get him another before Iran's second group match against Belgium on Sunday.
"Following efforts by the Football Federation and coordination with FIFA, the player was issued a new multiple-entry visa today," the FFIRI said in a statement later on Tuesday.
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"With this visa now secured, Torabi will have no issues accompanying Iran’s national team in its upcoming matches and will be available to travel with the squad throughout the remainder of the tournament."
Torabi, an unused substitute in Monday's 2-2 draw with New Zealand, is an ardent supporter of the Iranian government and has links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
During the 2019 anti-government protests, he wore a T-shirt on the pitch during a club match reading: "The only way to save the country is to obey the leadership."
The 31-year-old was also a regular presence at nightly pro-government rallies in Tehran's Valiasr Square that took place after U.S. and Israeli air strikes on the Islamic Republic triggered a regional conflict in late February.
The U.S. government classifies the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would not allow anyone with links to the elite military force to enter the country with the players.
Iran's World Cup team supervisor Mahdi Mohammad Nabi was among 15 FFIRI officials who were denied visas to travel to the U.S. for the World Cup games.
This had been set to be the first World Cup in which a host nation had received a country it was at war with until a peace deal was announced barely 24 hours before Monday's match.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei said the travel chaos stemming from tensions between Iran and the U.S. had "oppressed" his players and affected their performance against New Zealand.
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