StadiumPosts Logo
Stay upto date with notifications from Stadiumposts
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences

UNSPORTSMANLIKE: IRAN REJECTS WORLD CUP DRAW OVER US VISA OBSTACLES

Iran threatens to boycott the World Cup after its federation president was denied a US visa. This political crisis puts their tournament participation in serious doubt.

Unsportsmanlike: Iran Rejects World Cup Draw Over US Visa Obstacles
Iran Boycotts Draw

Iran will not attend next week's World Cup draw in Washington. The reason? The president of their football federation couldn't get a visa to enter the U.S.

An Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) spokesperson said the visa rejection was unrelated to sport. This situation raises the possibility of Iran backing out of the whole tournament.

Iran is among 19 countries facing U.S. entry restrictions since a directive by Donald Trump in June. There was an exception for athletes, coaches, and essential support staff travelling for the World Cup or other major sporting events. But it seems this exception wasn't applied here.

The FFIRI spokesperson, Amir Mehdi Alavi, told the Tehran Times that the decisions aren't sports-related, so the Iranian delegation won't be at the World Cup draw.

The newspaper reports that FFIRI president Mehdi Taj was among three people denied visas by the U.S. State Department. Four others, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, did get visas. In October, reports said both Taj and Ghalenoei had their visa applications turned down. The Tehran Times mentioned that the FFIRI took the issue to FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly.

Infantino had earlier promised that everyone would be welcome at the World Cup, starting June 11 in Mexico City. On October 9, he tried to ease concerns about potential visa denials for athletes or officials.

Infantino said that they had good talks with the U.S. government. He said that they had a White House task force. He said that there wouldn't be visa problems for participating teams and delegations, and they're working on something for fans, too.

FIFA has since confirmed the FIFA Pass. It's a program where World Cup ticket holders get priority access to the visa application process before the tournament. But applications aren't guaranteed to succeed. Politico reports that fans from Haiti—who made it to their second World Cup last week but are also on Trump's restricted travel list—can apply for visas but might still be denied.

CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.

top-news
Ronaldo "considering leaving Saudi Arabia" despite signing 2027 contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.

N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY

N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?

top-news
Paperwork error halts N’Golo Kante’s transfer to Turkey at final hour

N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.

Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.

Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.

Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.

Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.

Premier League Standings

WhatsApp Read More News