Fifa releases statement over Uruguay travel chaos before World Cup 2026 match | OneFootball

Fifa has blamed an airline after Uruguay experienced trouble arriving in Miami on the eve of their first World Cup 2026 match over a flight permit issue.

Uruguay’s national team have blamed Fifa over the chaotic start to their World Cup campaign following the delay to their travel from their Mexico base to Miami.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have travelled to Cancun for final preparations before getting their World Cup underway against Saudi Arabia on Monday but the squad were left waiting as their prepared plane didn’t have clearance to fly to the US.

The problem facing the team was due to issues with paperwork for the aircraft which meant it had not been approved to take the route from Cancun to Miami.

The Uruguayan team remained at the Mayakoba Complex, a hotel resort about 45 minutes from Cancun International airport, before a solution was found, with the Uruguayan FA left angry with Fifa.

A Fifa statement read: "Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team’s departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed. The airline has apologised for the inconvenience caused.

“FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimise disruption to the team’s travel arrangements."

While the AUF previously blamed Fifa for the problem, stating: “Due to problems beyond the control of the AUF, the departure from Mexico has been delayed. The squad is resting at the hotel. The new departure time set by FIFA is 4.15pm.”

Bielsa had been scheduled to attend a pre-match press conference at the Miami Stadium at 8pm EST on Sunday.

Uruguay legend Diego Forlan appeared upset at the situation, writing: “Who is to blame???,” Forlan wrote, followed by “Arriba Uruguay!!”

The Independent has contacted Fifa for comment.

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The Uruguay National Team are facing issues with a flight from Cancun to Miami (Getty)

Uruguay’s plight is one of a number of travel issues that teams and individuals have faced when travelling to the US for the tournament.

Somalian referee, Omar Artan, was famously denied entry into the country due to unspecified “vetting concerns” despite being on the list of approved Fifa employees and Palestine’s football chief, Jibril Rajoub, revealed on Friday that he is still awaiting permission to enter the country.

Iran, meanwhile, are claiming its fan ticket allocation has been revoked – just one week before their first match against New Zealand in Los Angeles with the country’s football federation (FFIRI) stating last Tuesday that it is a decision which will “sabotage the presence of Iranian fans”.

Elsewhere, Ghana’s Thomas Partey was denied entry to Canada, due to previously being charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by London’s Metropolitan Police. Fifa confirmed in a statement: “FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp ... to Canada for their first match against Panama ... as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government.”

Uruguay play their first two group stage matches in Miami, taking on Saudi Arabia on June 15 before facing Cape Verde on June 21. They travel back to Mexico for their final group game against Spain on June 27.