ScreenshotThe Iranian national soccer team is attempting to portray itself as the victim after being required to leave the United States immediately following its opening World Cup match against New Zealand.After battling New Zealand to a 2-2 draw in Los Angeles on Monday night, Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei complained that his team was ordered to return to its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, just hours after the match.Ghalenoei went so far as to claim Iran was the “most oppressed” team in the entire tournament due to travel restrictions and visa complications.Coach Amir Ghalenoei said the team was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its tournament with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday night.“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei complained through an interpreter, according to The Associated Press.“After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”“We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest,” Ghalenoei said. “I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us. The decision-making for us is being made elsewhere. We were supposed to come two nights before the game, and we were supposed to stay tonight to recover and return tomorrow at lunchtime. We have no idea why. I think our team is perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup.”Captain Mehdi Taremi piled on, calling the situation a “disaster” and demanding FIFA intervene.However, U.S. officials pushed back on claims that Iran was blindsided by the travel requirement.According to officials involved with the White House FIFA task force, Iranian representatives were informed in advance that the team would only be permitted to enter the United States immediately before matches and would be required to depart shortly afterward.White House FIFA Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani made it crystal clear: “We were clear this was the process.”The team’s visas were always conditioned on arriving the day before matches and departing the evening of the match. No surprises. No secret plot. Just basic security protocols for representatives of a regime the U.S. has repeatedly designated a state sponsor of terrorism.Several Iranian federation officials, including support staff and the federation president, were denied entry over those exact ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. That’s why the team had to scrap plans to train in Arizona and set up camp in Tijuana, Mexico instead.KCRA reported:Giuliani said during an interview broadcast Monday night on CBS News that some of the Iranian team’s support staff and team officials were denied entry into the U.S. But he said that all the players and coaches had received visas. He also outlined the conditions by which the Iranian team would be able to come into the U.S. for their games.“The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match. They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles. They’ll be able to do it again in Seattle,” Giuliani said.When asked about why some support staff and team officials had been denied entry, Giuliani wouldn’t go into details but referred to previous comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio about denying entry to people with direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.“Secretary Rubio said very clearly: Anybody with direct ties to the IRGC is not coming into the United States of America, and they’re not going to let the World Cup be the reason why they can come in,” Giuliani said. “So I think it’s very clear why.”The post Iran’s World Cup Team Forced to Leave From US Hours After 2-2 Draw with New Zealand — Coach Whines They Are the “MOST OPPRESSED” Team in the Tournament… But This Has ALWAYS Been the Plan appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.