Egypt's head coach Hossam Hassan has stated that all teams at the FIFA World Cup deserve equal treatment, amid criticism that Iran has faced unfair scheduling and travel restrictions from tournament co-hosts the United States.
Asked by Al Jazeera if he had a message for the Iranian team, Hassan said on Thursday that he respects "all of the teams that have a right to be at the World Cup". He added that all teams have the right to equal treatment "because FIFA seeks respect and fair play".
"Respect and fair play mean everyone should respect everyone, and for there to be fairness between everyone. That's why I wish luck to all of us," Hassan said. "The Iranian team is one of the teams I respect very much."
While Hassan stopped short of explicitly criticising the US hosts, his comments represent a rare show of support for Iran from a fellow team in the tournament. Iran based their training camp in Mexico while playing all of their matches on the US West Coast. Iranian players and staff were only allowed into the US one day before their matches and ordered to leave the country almost immediately after play ended.
US authorities have loosened the restrictions ahead of Iran's match against Egypt in Seattle, allowing Team Melli to arrive in the city two days earlier. Iran's manager Amir Ghalenoei reiterated on Thursday that US travel policies have affected the fitness and preparations of his squad.
"We are going to set all of that aside. We are going to overcome all of these challenges," he told reporters. Asked about being able to arrive in Seattle two days before the match, Ghalenoei said: "This was our right, which we should have had in the two previous games, but they deprived us of the right to arrive on time."
Both Ghalenoei and Hassan expressed respect for each other's teams. Ghalenoei said: "We are very happy there are two teams playing together who have ancient civilisations and are proud of their countries." He stressed that his team will not solely focus on stopping Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, noting Egypt's depth.
Egypt tops the group with four points; a draw will be enough for them to qualify. Iran is second with two points, Belgium also has two, and New Zealand has one. Despite a draw possibly being sufficient, Hassan said he knows how to pursue victory. Egypt scored its first-ever World Cup victory, a 3-1 win against New Zealand, on Monday.
Source: www.aljazeera.com