Italy’s repechage to World Cup: problems with some visas from'Iran, hope rekindled?

Everything seemed to have gone smoothly. A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that all players on the Iranian team were granted visas. Actually, that is not the case, considering that some members of the delegation have been “rejected.”

According to Iranian state television, the secretary general of the Iranian soccer federation, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, are reportedly among the 14 staff members and executives without visas to the United States.

The decision to deny visas to some Iranian staff members has “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity to compete on equal terms and without discrimination,” according to a statement posted on the federation’s website. The federation added that it will bring the matter to the attention of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.

In short, not a pleasant situation for the Iranian delegation, which finds itself, once again, dealing with a complex situation. Some think that the extreme gesture might even come, namely the decision to step back and say no to the World Cup. The issue remains hot, not least because of statements made by Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, reported by ESPN: “We will not allow them to include in their delegation a group of people who we know have nothing to do with sports and who have ties to the Revolutionary Guards or anything like that.”