OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) 鈥� Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday it was her 鈥渦nderstanding鈥� that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry into her country ahead of the FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver just weeks before the start of the
Anand appeared to confirm a report from Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but she said the denial was 鈥渦nintentional.鈥�
Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry due to 鈥渋nappropriate behavior of immigration officials鈥� at Toronto鈥檚 Pearson Airport.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but I鈥檒l leave it to the minister to indicate,鈥� Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
The online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj had been granted a visa Monday and had been removed from Canada late Tuesday evening due to his connections to the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
An emailed response from Diab鈥檚 office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained officials.
鈥淲hile we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,鈥� said Taous Ait, Diab鈥檚 press secretary.
The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Representatives from each of the 211 federations in soccer鈥檚 governing body were expected to attend the event that begins Thursday.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran’s status for the event.
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