OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday it was her “understanding” that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry weeks before the start of the FIFA General Assembly in Vancouver. world cup.
Anand appeared to confirm the report by Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but said the denial was “unintentional.”
Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry to Toronto’s Pearson Airport due to “inappropriate behavior by immigration officials,” Tasnim news agency reported.
“My understanding is that there will be a revocation of the permit, although it was not my personal initiative. It was not intentional, but I will leave it to the minister to indicate that,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
Online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj was granted a visa on Monday and was expelled from Canada late Tuesday night due to his ties to the Revolutionary Guards, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada.
An email response from Diab’s office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained staff.
“Privacy laws prevent us from commenting on individual cases, but the government has been clear and consistent: Revolutionary Guards personnel cannot enter Canada and have no place in our country,” Diab spokesman Taus Ait said in a statement.
The FIFA General Assembly meeting will be held a few weeks before the start of the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Representatives from each of the soccer governing body’s 211 federations were scheduled to attend the event, which begins on Thursday.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran’s situation at the tournament.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
