Despite remaining undefeated in the initial round of the World Cup, the Iran national team is going home after failing to secure enough points to advance. But they do not leave quietly.

Iran’s tumultuous journey in the World Cup has been the subject of widespread attention amid the U.S. war with Iran, with the United States being one of three countries hosting matches. The Iranian team captain, Mehdi Taremi, blamed FIFA, saying, “It’s a disaster World Cup. A disaster.”

“I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately they could not solve it since the beginning,” Taremi said at a press conference Friday after his team drew with Egypt, knocking Iran out of the tournament.

He pointed to the team’s biggest obstacle. “We don’t have our logistics people here. They don’t have a visa,” Taremi said, adding, “We always complain about these things but no one helps. No one.”

The Trump administration denied visas to key Iranian staff and severely restricted players’ travel. The team’s base camp was moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, where it was required to return immediately after each game.

“How is it possible we always have to travel from Tijuana? We love the people in Tijuana. We love Mexico,” the Iran team captain said, but added, “It’s not fair.”

Throughout the tournament, the Football Federation of Iran lamented the number of issues, threatening to lodge a formal complaint against FIFA. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei called his team the “most oppressed” in the tournament. A few days before Iran’s final match against Egypt in Seattle on Friday, the U.S. loosened travel restrictions to allow players to enter the United States two days before the game.

“The Iran team will still be required to leave the day the match ends,” the Department of Homeland Security said ahead of the match. “The overall security measures and protocol are the same. We remain committed to providing the safest tournament possible for players, staff, and fans alike.”

Still, Iran finished Group G in third place with three points earned after drawing in its matches against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt. Under FIFA’s new 48-team format, the top eight of third-place teams move on to the next round, but Iran narrowly fell short.

The team initially seemed poised to advance when it was tied with the same amount of points as Algeria, which scored a goal in stoppage-time against Austria Saturday night. But moments later, Austria tied the game, guaranteeing Iran’s elimination.

Off the field, tensions with Iran heightened Friday when the U.S. struck Iran despite signing a memorandum of understanding meant to halt hostilities in order to finalize a peace deal.

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