International Wushu Referee Exposes: Iranian Officials Commit 'Title Forgery' to Obtain US Visas

An international Wushu referee revealed in Instagram stories that sports officials of the Islamic Republic have committed 'title forgery' to deceive consulate officers in order to obtain US visas for participating in the World Wushu Championship. Arghavan Jalali Farahani, who previously made headlines for her hijab-free participation in the Wushu World Championship in the US, analyzed available documentation and showed that Iranian sports officials misrepresented individuals with unrelated titles to secure US visas. Following the failure to issue visas for the accompanying members of the Iranian Wushu delegation, Jalali Farahani published a list of companions, stating that Ali Raghbati, introduced as the 'team doctor,' is 'not a doctor at all and was falsely presented as such,' which has 'raised suspicion at the US embassy.' According to her, Raghbati holds a high-ranking sports position but was introduced with a different title for the trip to the US. Jalali Farahani also noted that Hamed Abdolmaleki, who is 'in charge of public relations for the federation,' was introduced as the 'team leader' for the US trip. She emphasized that during the Iranian team's trip to Armenia for interviews at the US embassy, 'many individuals,' including several players like 'Saman Ahmadi and Sedigheh Daryayi,' and 'numerous senior federation managers' accompanied the team, yet these individuals were not included in the final travel list, while 'a series of individuals' with 'strange titles' were registered. She questioned, 'Why, when there is a quota, are players removed from the travel list, but the number of accompanying individuals is not reduced?' According to her, Iranian sports officials have viewed this trip as an opportunity 'for leisure and travel for the officials' instead of allowing players to participate in the World Championships. The introduction of Iranian officials as the accompanying team for Wushu with 'title forgery' comes as Farshid Asadian, a Wushu champion, previously stated that 'his passport and assets are still confiscated due to his support for the protests.' The failure to issue visas for Iranian sports delegations has a history, as seen when the US did not issue visas for members of the Iranian karate national team, preventing them from participating in the World Championships and leading to the removal of Iranian karateka names from the official 'World Games' website. Iranian officials have repeatedly been accused by experts and analysts of politicizing sports. Mehdi Rostampour, a journalist and sports analyst, previously told VOA that Ali Khamenei's recent speech alone is enough for international bodies to suspend all of Iran's sports.