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Printable Page
04/30 07:01 CDT Canadian official backs up report that Iranian soccer chief was
denied entry for FIFA event
Canadian official backs up report that Iranian soccer chief was denied entry
for FIFA event
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) --- Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said
Wednesday it was her "understanding" 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 World Cup.
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 "unintentional."
Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two
other Iranian officials were denied entry due to "inappropriate behavior of
immigration officials" at Toronto's Pearson Airport.
"It's not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation
of the permission. It was unintentional, but I'll leave it to the minister to
indicate," 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's office said all visa applications are reviewed
on a case-by-case basis by trained officials.
"While 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," said Taous Ait, Diab's 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's 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.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
