Iranian soccer official says he’s talking to authorities after former IRGC commander denied entry to Canada

A senior Iranian soccer official says he’s been in contact with “relevant authorities” after Canada’s immigration minister confirmed the government revoked travel documents granted to a former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to attend a FIFA meeting in Vancouver.

The incident, which has drawn pointed questions from Conservatives, is similar to a previous one in 2022 when Canadian officials discussed a special exemption for Iran’s soccer team to travel to Vancouver for an international friendly match against Canada. The game was cancelled over public outrage.

The latest controversy involves Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation and a former intelligence commander with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the Iranian regime’s military and security force. Canada listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity in 2024.

Taj was leading a small delegation of Iranian soccer officials when he was turned away after landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Tuesday.

“I am currently looking into the situation and coordinating with the relevant authorities,” Hamed Momeni, deputy secretary general of Iran’s Football Federation, wrote in a message to CBC News on Friday. He did not clarify which authorities he’s contacted.

Momeni was reportedly among the delegates who flew to Canada with Taj to attend the FIFA Congress held this week in Vancouver.

Taj told Iranian media that the group was granted visas to enter Canada, but when they arrived in Toronto he was taken to a room and questioned by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) about his involvement with the IRGC. 

In a video posted by the West Asia News Agency, Taj claims CBSA eventually agreed to allow them entry, but the delegation decided to return to Iran due to the behaviour of Canadian immigration officials. 

“They did not in fact deport us, and there is nothing called deportation in the record, but that is how it appears, at least from what we know. We returned ourselves,” Taj said in Farsi.  

On Thursday, Immigration Minister Lena Diab said Canada did in fact revoke the travel documents it had issued to Taj while he was mid-flight. 

“The individual had no status to come into Canada. By the time they landed, they left. They are back in their own country,” Diab told a parliamentary committee.

On Friday, Iran’s soccer federation posted a video on Telegram showing Taj descending what appears to be an airport escalator, writing in the caption that he had returned to the country after his recent trip to Canada. 

2022 case sparked public outrage

In 2022, then prime minister Justin Trudeau said it “wasn’t a very good idea” for Canada Soccer to invite Iran’s soccer team to Canada for an exhibition match in Vancouver.

But CBC News learned that despite Trudeau’s public comments, multiple federal departments privately continued discussions about arranging special travel exemptions to allow dozens of Iranian players and officials to enter the country. 

Internal emails released under access to information laws revealed Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Sport Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) were all involved in the behind-the-scenes talks.

At the time, the government officials discussed the need for “national interest letters,” which are issued by top federal officials to expedite the entry of foreign nationals to Canada if it serves the interests of Canada. These letters are only supposed to be issued in extraordinary circumstances. 

Global Affairs warned another department that failing to process the visas could be used by the Iranian government to accuse Canada of politicizing the World Cup, held that year in Qatar. The 2026 tournament is being hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

IRCC said it wasn’t in a position to sign the national interest letters, leaving GAC’s deputy minister to authorize them. 

In the end, Canada Soccer cancelled the game after public outrage, and acknowledged that proceeding would have been “significantly divisive.” The government later said it didn’t issue the visas because the game had been called off. 

Immigration lawyer Joshua Slayen said the government clearly didn’t learn from that experience in 2022, since Taj was initially granted travel documents to enter the country this week.

“Canada, I can say with certainty, absolutely has not learned its lesson,” Slayen said. “Once again, we see approvals on applications … that shock us.”

Iran International first reported that Canada had granted Taj a temporary resident permit, which allows Canadian authorities to admit a person who would otherwise not be allowed into the country. 

Slayden said that would mean the Canadian official adjudicating the application took into account Taj’s criminal admissibility, including any security threat he posed and whether his admission was in the best interest of Canadians. 

He said it’s likely that multiple government departments were involved, and a senior official could have signed the national interest letter.

“Different government agencies will get involved to protect different national interests,” Slayden said.

He added it’s very rare for the Canadian government to revoke someone’s travel documents mid-flight. 

Decision raises ‘serious questions’

The Conservatives have accused the government of cancelling the visas only because of Iran International’s reporting, and question whether Taj would have been admitted had the story not gotten out.

“The government’s decision to allow a high profile member of the IRGC to enter Canada raises serious questions about the government’s judgement and ability to keep Canadians safe ahead of the FIFA World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event,” Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said in a statement.

CBC News contacted multiple government departments with questions about their involvement in any decisions about the Iranian delegation’s admission to Canada.

Canadian Heritage, which Sport Canada falls under, said it wasn’t involved in any conversations about the Iranian Football Federation’s visit.

IRCC said no IRGC official has been admitted to Canada to attend the FIFA congress.

“A determination of inadmissibility can be made at any stage in the travel process to protect public safety,” IRCC said.

FIFA, which organized the event in Vancouver, has also not responded to repeated requests for comment from CBC News. 

Canada Soccer spokesperson Paulo Senra said: “Canada Soccer has no operational role in the FIFA Congress and was not involved in this matter.”