TORONTO, ‌April 30 — An Iranian football federation delegation, including a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said they turned back at ​Toronto’s main airport this week, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and are set to miss a pre-World Cup Fifa gathering in Vancouver.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegation members, including federation president Mehdi Taj, secretary general Hedayat Mombeni and his deputy Hamed Momeni, turned back upon arrival despite holding valid visas, citing what ‌was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials.”

The Iranian delegation was en route to Vancouver for Thursday’s Fifa Congress, which is meant to bring together representatives of all ​211 member associations ahead of the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

“While Mehdi Taj, president, Hedayat Mombeni, secretary general, and Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary general of the federation, had travelled to Toronto with official visas to attend the Fifa Congress, they returned to Turkey on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation’s armed ​forces,” the Iran football federation said in a statement carried by Tasnim News Agency.

Taj is a former member of Iran’s hardline Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). “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,” the Canadian government said in a statement.

“We have taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account and will continue to do so, while protecting the safety of Canadians and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.”

The incident that occurred on Tuesday underscores the practical and political obstacles surrounding Iran’s participation at the World Cup, the most politically sensitive item on Fifa’s agenda since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.

Iran’s qualification has not removed ‌hurdles tied to travel, visas and security in a tournament staged in three countries.

Canadian minister says IRGC members not welcome

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not speak about specific cases due ⁠to privacy legislation but Revolutionary Guard members were not welcome in Canada.

In 2024, Canada listed the IRGC ⁠as a terrorist organisation.

“The Canadian government had granted Taj special permission to enter Canada for a Fifa event. He would otherwise have been inadmissible ⁠due to his affiliation with the IRGC, which Canada formally ⁠recognised as a terrorist entity in June 2024,” ⁠the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights said in a statement.

“This case should have been straightforward. The decision to grant him entry at all was profoundly troubling. It undermines Canada’s designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity and contradicts our country’s commitment to combatting impunity for serious human rights abuses in Iran.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the World ⁠Cup but added that the players would not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to the IRGC.

While Fifa has insisted fixtures will proceed as scheduled, the delegation’s withdrawal deepens doubts over whether Iranian players, officials and supporters will be able to move freely across borders during the tournament.

Fifa has since contacted the Iranian delegation to express regret over the incident and indicated that President Gianni Infantino would arrange a meeting with them at the organisation’s headquarters, the Tasnim report added.

Fifa did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. A source at the Fifa Congress told Reuters Fifa had sent a representative to mediate in Toronto but their efforts were in vain.

World Cup less than two months away

The Fifa Congress is usually a routine gathering but carries greater weight this year with the ⁠World Cup less than two months away and several questions, including cost and Iran’s participation, still hanging over the first 48-team edition of the tournament.

The Iranian officials were also unable to attend Tuesday’s Asian Football Confederation Congress, which was also held in Vancouver.

“If it’s like this in Canada where it’s supposed to be easy, how is it going to ⁠be for the World Cup in the US?” a delegate at the AFC Congress told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub told Reuters in Vancouver ⁠that the issue of visas ⁠had clouded the Fifa Congress.

“No one knows whether they will issue visas for this or that,” he said. “Building a wall between politics and this world (of sport) is a benefit for everybody, including the three countries who are hosting the World ​Cup. Let us at least present something united to the world.”

Concerns over security, travel restrictions and the broader geopolitical climate have ​prompted officials in Tehran to seek guarantees for the Iran team at the World Cup and, in some ‌cases, explore the possibility of alternative venues for their matches in the United States.

Fifa has so far resisted any changes, reiterating ​that participating teams are expected to adhere to the established match schedule.

The ​Congress was expected to focus on operational and financial questions linked to the World Cup. — Reuters

Vote comes on same day the US supreme court rolls back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act

The Florida legislature approved a new congressional map intended to maximize Republicans’ advantage in the state as part of the national redistricting battle that Donald Trump launched before this year’s midterms.

The vote came just two days after the governor, Ron DeSantis, unveiled his proposal and the same day the US supreme court rolled back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The decision could make it harder for Democrats to challenge Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts in ways that limit the influence of voters of color.

VANCOUVER, April 29 — Fifa on Tuesday boosted overall World Cup cash distributions to nearly US$900 million (RM3.5 billion) following concerns over the spiraling costs for teams taking part in the tournament.

Football’s global governing body said in a statement that money shared between the 48 teams taking part in the finals in Mexico, Canada and the United States would now total US$871 million, up from an initial figure of US$727 million announced in December.

The cash injection was announced following a meeting of Fifa’s ruling council ahead of the body’s Congress taking place in Vancouver on Thursday.

The hefty increase comes after several Fifa members reportedly argued that the high cost of travel, tax and overall operations could result in them losing money from taking part in the tournament.

Fifa has now moved to alleviate those concerns, hiking an award of US$1.5 million for “preparation costs” to US$2.5 million for each of the qualified teams.

A payment of US$9 million for qualifying for the tournament has also been increased to US$10 million.

Further contributions for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations are also part of the overall increase.

“Fifa is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our member associations in an unprecedented way,” Fifa President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

“This is one more example of how Fifa’s resources are reinvested back into the game.”

Fifa is projected to earn around US$13 billion from the current four-year World Cup cycle, which concludes with this year’s tournament, the largest World Cup in history.

Fifa’s prize money for the 2026 tournament announced last year had already shattered the cash handed out at the 2022 World Cup, increasing by 50 percent.

The increase in cash payments comes with Fifa increasingly under fire for the high cost of tickets to the tournament, while some local authorities in the United States have dramatically raised transport costs during the event.

Mouth-covering crackdown 

Fifa, meanwhile, also confirmed law changes which will be rolled out at the World Cup, which kicks off in Mexico City on June 11.

From now on, players who cover their mouths during confrontations with opponents will face a red card as part of a new initiative aimed at combating racism.

In a statement following a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Vancouver on Tuesday, Fifa confirmed that the rule was one of two law changes that would be introduced at the World Cup.

“At the discretion of the competition organiser, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card,” Fifa said.

The new rule follows controversy earlier this year when Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racially abusing Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior during a Champions League game in February.

Prestianni was accused of calling Vinicius a “monkey” repeatedly while covering his mouth. Prestianni denied racially abusing Vinicius but was later banned for six matches — with three of those suspended — for “homophobic conduct”.

In a separate law change announced on Tuesday to be enforced at the World Cup, Fifa said that red cards would also be introduced for players leaving the field of play in protest at a referee’s decision.

Fifa also said a team causing a game to be abandoned will forfeit the match.

The move follows the uproar at this year’s final of the Africa Cup of Nations, when Senegal’s players, head coach Pape Thiaw and his staff walked off the pitch in Rabat after Morocco were awarded a penalty in added time, which forward Brahim Diaz ultimately missed.

Senegal went on to win the final 1-0 in extra time, but were sensationally stripped of the title by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a bombshell decision issued last month.

Fifa has also approved a change to the way sanctions are enforced during the World Cup.

From this year’s tournament, single yellow cards issued to players in the group stage will be cancelled after the first round, and then again after the quarter-finals.

The move is aimed at ensuring that star players do not find themselves suspended for crucial games in the tournament after collecting two separate yellow cards. — AFP 

Remarks marking 250th anniversary of American independence tell US lawmakers: ‘The actions of this great nation matter’

King Charles has extolled the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the US in a speech to Congress that made pointed reference to the importance of Nato, the defence of Ukraine and the climate crisis.

In a speech that will be read as a veiled plea to Donald Trump to return to the US’s traditional European alliances and restore his country’s role as a defender of liberal values, Charles said: “America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more.”

Positions ‘terminated, effective immediately’, says email to scientists sent on president’s behalf, in move labelled ‘dangerous attack’ on US innovation

The Trump administration has fired members of an independent board that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Members of the National Science Board received an email on Friday sent from the Presidential Personnel Office “on behalf of President Donald J Trump” stating that their position was “terminated, effective immediately”.

Redrawn map could flip up to five seats to Republicans as Trump’s party seeks to keep control of Congress

The US supreme court formally reinstated on Monday a redrawn Texas electoral map that was designed to add more Republicans to the US House of Representatives, as Donald Trump’s party seeks to keep control of Congress in the November congressional elections.

The move by the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, formalizes an interim decision it made in December to revive the map of US House districts in Texas.

Special session comes after Virginia voted to redraw maps and as Trump pressures Republicans to protect House majority

Florida begins a special session on Tuesday in what may be the last front of the redistricting war before the 2026 election, with Republicans trying to redraw maps to pick up more seats in Congress.

Lawmakers enter the session in Tallahassee cloaked in mystery, with no preview of a proposed map to consider and no clear path for Republicans to increase their representation in what appears to be a hostile year for their party.