TORONTO — An Iranian Football Federation delegation was turned back at Toronto's Pearson airport on Tuesday and will miss a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver. The group included federation President Mehdi Taj, Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni and Deputy Secretary-General Hamed Momeni, all of whom held valid visas on arrival.

The officials were unable to attend the Asian Football Confederation congress held in Vancouver on Tuesday. They returned to Turkiye on the first available flight after being denied entry.

In a statement, the Iranian Football Federation said: "While Mehdi Taj, president, Hedayat Mombeni, secretary-general, and Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary-general of the federation, had travelled to Toronto with official visas to attend the FIFA Congress, they returned to Turkiye on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation's armed forces."

The Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Canada listed as a terrorist organization in 2024. The government said IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in the country.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the denial of entry was unintentional. "It's not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission," Anand said.

Canada's Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not speak about specific cases due to privacy legislation. He said IRGC members were not welcome in Canada.

FIFA contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident and indicated that President Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting with the delegation at the organisation's headquarters. The FIFA Congress is meant to bring together representatives of all 211 member associations before the World Cup, which is being cohosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.