The president of the Palestinian Football Association says he was denied a visa to enter the United States for the FIFA World Cup, raising concerns over access restrictions for accredited participants attending one of the world’s largest sporting events amid ongoing tensions in West Asia.

Jibril Rajoub said on Saturday that he remains in Mexico City awaiting permission to travel to the US and join other football federation leaders attending the tournament.

Rajoub was present at Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but said he has been unable to enter the US despite being accredited for the World Cup.

He is among several individuals connected to the tournament who have reportedly either been denied visas or are still waiting for approval from US authorities.

“I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” Rajoub said.

Although Palestine did not qualify for the World Cup, FIFA traditionally invites the heads of national football associations from around the world to attend the tournament, which the governing body promotes as a celebration of international unity through sport.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had previously stressed the inclusive nature of the competition.

“Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. We are working exactly for that,” he said last year.

However, reports of visa difficulties involving participants from several countries have cast a shadow over those commitments. According to media reports, a referee from Somalia and a photographer travelling with Iraq’s national team have also faced entry problems.

Last week, the US denied visas to several Iranian national football team officials and staff ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite its duties as one of the hosts of the global event.

Addressing the issue this week, Infantino acknowledged that FIFA had been working to resolve visa-related challenges, but emphasized that the organization could not override the decisions of sovereign governments.

Source: Presstv

Mexico delivered a statement in the 2026 World Cup’s opening match, dominating South Africa 2-0 at the Azteca Stadium.

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start.

South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off.

The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams.

A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena.

Two red cards

But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes.

Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal.

Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal.

Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post.

It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado.

There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.

Source: AFP

Iran has criticized the United States for the way it has treated World Cup teams upon entry to the country while recommending that Washington take co-host Mexico as a model of hospitality and avoid politicizing sports.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a Wednesday post on his X account that the US is using its hosting of the World Cup as an opportunity to settle political scores.

“Soccer is a platform for healthy competition and for bringing nations closer together, not an excuse to open a Pandora’s box of old grudges and unleash deeply rooted complexes,” said Baghaei in the post.

“The World Cup is conceived as a global celebration of soccer, not as an opportunity to humiliate and discriminate against other nations.”

The spokesman said World Cup co-host Mexico had instead extended a warm welcome to footballers, including the Iranian national team that arrived in the country earlier this week.

He said Mexico’s way of treating the guest teams “serves as a powerful reminder of a simple truth: excellent hospitality is defined by human conduct and the ability to make guests feel genuinely welcomed and valued.”

Baghaei pointed to “troubling reports” about the inappropriate and disrespectful treatment of players, referees, and guests at entry points to the US, saying those reports would undermine huge efforts by the US to portray itself as a successful host of the World Cup.

“The true credibility of a host country is not measured solely by sports facilities or political grandiosity, but by the quality of treatment given to those who arrive in its country out of love for soccer,” he said.

In a move widely criticized in the world of politics and sport, the US government has refused to grant visas to some members of the Iranian football delegation seeking to attend the World Cup games.

US President Donald Trump also posted during the US-Israeli aggression on Iran in March, threatening that the presence of Iranian footballers in the US for World Cup games could pose risks to them.

Iran has repeatedly slammed Washington for its politicized way of treating the World Cup, saying the US should respect the rights of players and staff to attend the games.

Source: Press TV