Iran hit out at 'one of the most disastrous World Cups'
· Yahoo Sports
Iran's national football federation has hit out again over its treatment by the United States during what it named "one of the most controversial and disastrous World Cup tournaments."
Iran were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada and were subject of strict entry regulations by US authorities which also forced them to move their base camp from Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana.
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A statement on Saturday said that a World Cup should be "a festival of football, of the friendship between nations and mutual respect - and not a platform for political interference, discriminating practices, racism and unprofessional behaviour.
“What took place during this tournament was in clear contradiction to the spirit of football and to the principles that FIFA has always been committed to upholding."
Iran's team was only allowed short stays in the US for their matches and some delegation members were not granted visas at all as coach Amir Ghalenoei said they were the most "oppressed" team and captain Mehdi Taremi spoke of a "disaster World Cup" after their exit following three draws.
Iran and the US have also been in a military conflict since the end of February.
Saturday's statement added: “This tournament ultimately showed that, rather than facilitating the participation of the competing nations, the United States created unnecessary obstacles that undermined the very spirit of the game.
"It has become one of the most controversial and disastrous World Cups in history, in which the fundamental values of football were sacrificed due to inadequate organisation and unprofessional decisions by the host nation."
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin added to the situation by celebrating Iran’s elimination.
The federation criticised Mullin’s remarks but said it was not surprised. The statement also noted that Iran was not the only country to have experienced “unprofessional and uncivilised treatment by the US authorities”.