Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj Denied Entry to Canada at Toronto Airport — Misses FIFA Congress

Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni, and Deputy Secretary-General Hamed Momeni arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport with valid visas on April 29–30 but were refused entry to Canada and returned to Turkey on the first available flight. Canadian authorities cited Canada's 2024 designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, stating that Taj held ties to IRGC-linked institutions that rendered him inadmissible under Canadian law. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand acknowledged the denial while calling it 'unintentional' — a characterization rejected by the Iranian delegation, which described the treatment as an 'insult.' The three officials missed the 76th FIFA Congress entirely. AFC General Secretary Windsor John had said as recently as April 29 that he was 'optimistic' Iran's delegation would arrive in time for the Congress. FIFA President Infantino said he would arrange a meeting with the delegation at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The denial dramatically escalated the Iranian participation crisis: if federation leadership cannot enter Canada to attend an administrative congress 42 days before the tournament, the ability of 26 players, coaches, medical personnel, and official delegates to obtain US and Canadian visas and travel safely to Group G matches in Los Angeles (June 15 vs. New Zealand, June 21 vs. Belgium) and Seattle (June 26 vs. Egypt) is deeply in question. Iran International reported that Taj's IRGC connections were the specific legal basis for the Canadian border agency's refusal.