English broadcaster and former footballer Gary Lineker said in a Sky News interview Tuesday that the Iranian team has been treated "very unfairly" at the 2026 World Cup, calling it "disappointing" that the squad was not allowed to stay in the US and had to commute from Mexico. Lineker's comments echo the team's own complaints about last-minute travel changes stemming from US-Iran tensions.
English broadcaster and former England striker Gary Lineker weighed in on the Iran World Cup team's travel disputes with the United States, telling Sky News on Tuesday that the team has been treated "very unfairly." Lineker said it was "disappointing" that the squad was "not being allowed to stay in America and having to basically commute from Mexico." His remarks come a week after Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei told Fox News the team was "perhaps the most depressed in the World Cup" due to visa restrictions that forced them to base in Mexico and enter the US only on match days. The Iranian team played its opening match against New Zealand on Tuesday in California, resulting in a 2-2 draw, and was instructed to leave the US immediately afterward, as The Zioneer has reported. Iran's ambassador to Mexico was cited by Lineker as having said the Iranian football federation negotiated the late move of the team's base camp from Arizona to Mexico amid uncertainty over US visas and a sense that the squad's presence in the US should be kept to a minimum.
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