Canadian Minister Says Iranian Soccer Officials Denied Entry Ahead of FIFA Congress

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday it was her "understanding" that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry into her country ahead of the FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver just weeks before the start of the World Cup. Anand appeared to confirm a report from Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but she said the denial was "unintentional." Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry due to "inappropriate behavior of immigration officials" at Toronto's Pearson Airport. "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, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab. The online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj had been granted a visa Monday and had been removed from Canada late Tuesday evening due to his connections to the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity in Canada. An emailed response from Diab's office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained officials. "While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country," said Taous Ait, Diab's press secretary. The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Representatives from each of the 211 federations in soccer's governing body were expected to attend the event that begins Thursday. Iran representatives were not present Tuesday at the largest formal meeting of Asia's soccer leaders with Gianni Infantino before this summer's World Cup. There was no discussion at the Asian Football Confederation Congress about Iran's participation in the tournament or whether the team's games should be moved out of the United States because of the conflict between the two nations. There had been concerns ahead of the meetings Thursday that visa issues could impact the Iranian delegation's ability to travel to Vancouver for the overall FIFA Congress, as well as the World Cup starting on June 11. Iran is scheduled to begin World Cup play in Group G on June 15 against New Zealand in Inglewood, California, before matches against Egypt and Belgium. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran's status for the event. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.