Iran’s football federation has reportedly been stripped of its World Cup ticket allocation days before the competition begins, potentially affecting the plans of hundreds of fans due to attend group stage matches, according to media reports. The Associated Press, Reuters and The New York Times.
Under FIFA regulations, participating teams are allocated eight percent of available tickets for their federation’s matches to be sold or distributed to fans.
According to The Associated Press, most of the allocations went on sale after the group drawing in December, when Iranians had already been subject to a five-month U.S. government travel ban.
With less than a week until Iran opens its World Cup bid on June 15 at the 70,000-seat Los Angeles Rams stadium in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand, those tickets may no longer be guaranteed, the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation said in a statement obtained by the AP and Reuters.
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“Depriving Iranian fans of access to their legal and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit that governs international competitions and the principle of equality between participating countries,” he said.
The federation’s claims come amid heightened tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel after the latter launched coordinated airstrikes against Iran in late February, all of which are currently adhering to a fragile ceasefire negotiated during diplomatic negotiations. However, Israeli-led attacks on Iranian-backed Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Sunday and targeted attacks on US and allied Gulf military bases threaten the truce.
First responders inspect a residential building hit by an attack between the United States and Israel in Tehran, March 27, 2026.
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
FIFA is the sole body responsible for allocating tickets for the World Cup. The Iranian soccer federation suggested that “the United States has taken measures to obstruct the presence of Iranian fans in stadiums,” its statement continued.
“This incident raises serious questions about the influence of political and non-sporting considerations in the organization of the world’s largest football event,” the Iranian football federation said.
FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday that it is “working closely with the International Football Federation of Iran to identify solutions that maximize opportunities for Iranian fans to attend matches.”
Its president, Gianni Infantino, and general secretary, Mattias Grafström, have promised logistical support in face-to-face meetings with Iranian football officials in Turkey in recent weeks.
Most of Iran’s 26-man squad has not played a competitive match since the country’s professional league shut down in February, when the war began. The team’s World Cup training camp, initially scheduled to be in Tucson, Arizona, was later moved to Tijuana, Mexico.
The 2026 World Cup will mark the federation’s seventh appearance in the competition.
It is unclear how many tickets from the Iran allocation have been sold.
If the Iranian tickets are revoked, FIFA would have days to sell about 5,600 tickets for Monday’s Iran-New Zealand match, even though Los Angeles has the largest Iranian community in the US.
Reports of tickets being revoked for Iranian fans came on the same day that a top Somali referee, who will break records by being the first from that country to officiate at the World Cup, was denied entry to the United States.
Omar Artan was announced as a referee two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.
He was banned from entering Miami International Airport on Saturday due to “investigative concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without elaborating on those concerns.
– with files from The Associated Press
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