Vancouver police have decided that FIFA President Gianni Infantino must stop at red lights, unlike presidents and the Pope. Iran will be absent from the world association’s congress in Canada.
Vancouver police have ruled that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is different Presidents and the Pope has to stop at red lights. Iran will be absent from the world association’s congress in Canada. There was trouble despite the visas being issued.
Gianni Infantino is a permanent guest in the White House as a friend of the US President Donald Trump. He regularly meets heads of state and government and has even taken part in a G20 summit.
It seemed obvious to ask that the president of the world football association be granted the same privileges as the heads of state and the Pope at its congress in Canada. But Vancouver police refused.
“Formal Vehicle convoys are heads of state reserved”
“Formal vehicle convoys with traffic closures are reserved for heads of state”said police vice president Don Chapmanwho thereby confirmed media reports that a corresponding application had been made.
FIFA said it had been in contact with local authorities and asked for assistance with transport. But it’s not about one “special level” went with a police escort. Furthermore, Infantino was not involved. There will be no further comments on logistical issues.
Vancouver police also said FIFA officials did not meet the criteria for internationally protected persons. With such an escort came road closures and permission to run red lights.
Nothing official about Iran
Before the congress of the world association with its 211 national associations will meet in Vancouver on Thursday from 6.30 p.m. German time, there have already been a few other meetings in the city on the Pacific. Among other things, that met Council FIFA, which also includes Bernd Neuendorf, the President of the German Football Association (DFB).
When asked by Sportschau, he did not want to comment on possible topics, such as the situation surrounding Iran, whose national team is qualifying for the World Cup from June 11th to July 19th in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Iran has been at war with the USA and Israel since the end of February, so participation in the World Cup has been discussed for weeks. The question of whether a delegation from Iran would receive visas to be able to take part in the congress was also open for a long time. The entries have been approved, but the three planned officials will be missing in Vancouver.
According to a report by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the delegation led by association president Mehdi Taj, general secretary Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy Hamed Momeni left because the Canadian immigration authorities were on a stopover in Toronto “unacceptable behavior” would have.
Association President Ex-member of one Terrorist organization
Tasnim is considered loyal to the regime and closely linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which has been classified as a terrorist organization by Canada since 2024. Association president Taj is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards, who have brutally oppressed the people for decades and kept the regime in power.
The Reuters news agency quotes a statement from the Canadian government, according to which members of the Revolutionary Guards “no place in our country” However, she will not comment on individual cases for data protection reasons.
The Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights criticized Reuters that Taj should not have been granted special permission for a visa because of the FIFA Congress. “This has undermined Canada’s designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization and is inconsistent with our country’s commitment to combat Iran’s acceptance of serious human rights abuses.”
Citing a source at FIFA, Reuters reports that the world governing body has sent representatives to Toronto to mediate. The Iranian delegation flew back to Türkiye.
Infantino in a small group with Iran?
According to information from the sports show, President Infantino will speak to Iran in a small group in the coming days about what will happen next with a view to the World Cup.
There is still no public answer to the question of whether Iranian fans will be allowed to enter the USA where their team is playing the three group games.
In principle, there is an entry ban for residents of Iran. Haiti, Senegal and the fans of Germany’s group opponents Ivory Coast are also not allowed into the USA. The exception to major sporting events applies to the teams, coaching staff and officials of these countries, such as the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.