There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding the ongoing World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In particular, the way the American authorities seemingly treat people differently based on where they come from has come under scrutiny.
However, the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) has not noted any specific violations that would require further reporting to the International Football Association Board (FIFA).
"We have done it, I think, in the contexts we can. And we have done it with FIFA's top management. And we expect that teams are treated so that sporting conditions are not different for different teams," says Secretary General Niclas Carlnén.
Several notable events
Somali World Cup referee Omar Artan was denied entry and had his championship dream dashed. The same applied to members of the Iranian World Cup staff, as well as fans from Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Some national teams, such as Senegal and Uzbekistan, are also reported to have been forced to undergo rigorous security checks upon arrival in the US, while Sweden, for example, has had no such problems.
After Iran's opening match against New Zealand the other day, national team captain Amir Ghalenoei said this about the team's World Cup experience:
We are the most oppressed team in the World Cup.
Niclas Carlnén on the various controversies:
I can't comment on the individual details, because I don't even know why the various decisions were made and what the background was. But our approach is that there must be equal treatment.
"Talked to FIFA management"
So what has SvFF done to ensure that all teams are treated equally?
"In advance, we have spoken with FIFA's management about all the things that have been discussed in the media and internally with us during the build-up to the World Cup itself."
You say that you have to have the same conditions. There are several indications that this has not been the case. What are you doing to find out if this has been the case?
We can't do more than ask questions. But there are always details, and I certainly don't mean that this is a minor detail. There are things that happen during our preparations that may not be the same as other teams' preparations when we're here right now, with training grounds and everything. But we can't do more than talk about it and express our opinions.
