Lineker condemns US treatment of Iran as 'unfair' after World Cup team expelled between fixtures

Gary Lineker has condemned the United States for its treatment of Iran at the 2026 World Cup, after the Iranian squad was ordered to leave the country immediately following their opening Group G draw with New Zealand and return to a training base in Mexico — despite having no fixtures scheduled on Mexican soil.

Iran drew 2-2 with the All Whites in their tournament opener under manager Amir Ghalenoei, but were required to depart the US straight after the final whistle. Their original training base in Arizona had already been switched to Mexico before the tournament began, a disruption the Iranian football federation has said it intends to raise in a formal complaint to FIFA.

“I think they’ve been treated very unfairly,” Lineker said in an interview with Sky News. “I’ve covered a lot of World Cups, every one, either playing or broadcasting, since 1986, and I can’t remember going into a tournament where the host nation’s at war with one of the competing nations. So that was a first.”

The backdrop to the dispute is the ongoing hostility between Washington and Tehran, with conflict escalating following US-backed Israeli airstrikes that began in February. Lineker, who has featured in ITV’s World Cup coverage, acknowledged recent diplomatic movement between the two countries and argued it should have consequences for how Iran is treated as a competing nation.

“Hopefully the peace deal holds,” he added. “And perhaps because of the peace deal, it might be a nice gesture if they allow Iran to stay in the country where their football matches are. So I do think they’ve been unfairly treated. But they’ve shown great spirit on the pitch. And that’s important for them.”

Iran’s football secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini was equally pointed in his assessment of the situation. “We are the only team that are participating in the World Cup that we are at the host cities just 24 hours and it is not fair,” he said. “All these limitations on us, it has negative effects on our physical and mental [preparations for the players].”

Ghalenoei himself described his side as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup” after the New Zealand stalemate — a characterisation that is hard to dispute given the logistical constraints placed on his squad.

Iran face Egypt in Seattle next, with a win enough to secure top spot in Group G.