A space for sporting celebration and meeting between people, the 2026 World Cup has also been marked by controversies and controversies that go beyond football, highlighting the effects of the internal and external policies of one of its host countries, the United States. From an external point of view, the US war against Iran, which also participates in the competition, has resulted in difficulties for the visiting country, to the point that its delegation was banned from spending the night in US territory. Related news: Somali referee barred from US World Cup sees veto as “destiny”. Find out the time and location of the 2026 World Cup final. Brasileirão has a record number of players called up for a World Cup. From an internal point of view, the immigration policy implemented by President Donald Trump has caused problems for delegations, fans and even the competition's referees. Given the situation, the International Football Federation (FIFA) sought, in the period leading up to the World Cup, to negotiate with US authorities to relax some rules during the tournament, in order to reduce some of the barriers imposed by that country's migration control. Despite the effort – and given the fact that the entity acts more as a mediator than as a decision-maker – there are many reports of difficulties for fans, delegations and other sports professionals to enter the country. Furthermore, there are also questions about ticket and organization costs, which reinforces expectations that the World Cup will be marked by tensions that go beyond football. Iranian delegation The controversies due to US immigration policies began long before the World Cup. Among the delegations that had the most problems, the most prominent is that of Iran, the country against which the USA declared war. Tensions began months before the event, with Iranian players having difficulty obtaining a visa, which only happened on the eve of the tournament. Members of the coaching staff and managers were prevented from traveling to the USA in time to allow the team to prepare adequately. To make matters worse, the Iranian delegation was banned from staying in the US state of Arizona, as initially planned. It is worth remembering that Iran's three opening matches will be played on US territory. The emergency solution adopted was to change the delegation's base to the city of Tijuana, Mexico. Subsequently, the US government informed that it would not allow the delegation to stay overnight in the US, before or after the matches. This decision, however, was revised to allow the team to stay overnight the night before each match. Iranian fans have also found it difficult to participate in the biggest football event on the planet. According to international agencies, there are reports of Iranian fans who had their tickets canceled just a few days before the start of the World Cup. Aymen Hussein Another controversial case involves Iraqi player Aymen Hussein. He was detained for several hours at US immigration at Chicago airport, where he underwent rigorous interrogation just days before the start of the World Cup. Considered a highlight of the team, he had his cell phone inspected before being allowed to enter the country. Hussein was not the only one in the Iraqi delegation to have a problem. The team's photographer, Talal Salah, was prevented from entering the US after being held at immigration for more than 10 hours. Barred referee US immigration also barred entry from what would be the first Somali referee to referee a World Cup match. Omar Abdulkadir Artan was considered “inadmissible” by US authorities upon landing at Miami airport, coming from Istanbul. According to a statement from customs, he was denied entry due to “background check concerns.” Authorities, however, did not specify what those concerns were. Even though he had an approved visa and was officially accredited by FIFA, Artan was unable to participate in the tournament. FIFA regretted the episode under the argument that it had no control over immigration decisions in host countries. Ticket prices Another controversy surrounding the 2026 World Cup involves the price charged for tickets. According to the international press, the current edition is considered one of the most expensive in history, with prices ranging from US$2,000 to US$7,800, in the case of the final. In the Qatar Cup, in 2022, the ticket price for the final was around US$1,600. The model adopted for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico follows FIFA's traditional logic of dividing tickets into categories — which determines both the price and the fan's location in the stadium. The cheapest ticket costs around US$60 for the group stage. They, however, were sold in very limited quantities, leading most to pay up to $620 for the first few matches. For the knockout stages, tickets can cost more than US$3,000. Prices charged for the grand final range from US$2,030 to around US$7,800.