Iran coach Amir Galenoi said the United States treated his country โunfairlyโ during the World Cup and called on FIFA to intervene in the future.
Iran is participating in the World Cup amid the countryโs conflict with the United States and Israel.
Their World Cup training base was moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico before the tournament began, and they faced travel restrictions throughout the tournament.
For the first two matches in Los Angeles, the Iranian team was only allowed to enter the United States the day before the match and had to leave the country again on the same day as the game, according to the terms of their visas.
Iran drew their last Group G match against Egypt 1-1, leaving hopes of progressing to the round of 16.
Travel restrictions were relaxed for the game in Seattle, allowing them to arrive two days early, but they had to return to Tijuana after the match.
Galenoi said: โTo my players and team I want to say that I am proud of them. What these young people, these players did, should be written down in history because we were treated very unfairly by the host country.โ
โDespite all these problems, we were able to perform well and the world is proud of the Iranians and our team.
โI call on FIFA: do not allow the hosts to treat players and teams equally in future World Cups.โ
FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously noted that the organization had done a good job in ensuring Iran had the opportunity to participate in the World Cup.
โWhen people said Iran couldnโt come to the World Cup, I promised them they would come,โ Infantino said before the start of the tournament.
โI donโt know who else could guarantee that in these circumstances, which were beyond our control, Iran could come and play.โ
Infantino later visited Iranโs dressing room after their opening draw with New Zealand.