Iran’s soccer team and “necessary support” staff have been issued visas ahead of the World Cup but Donald Trump’s government has warned them no to “sneak terrorists into the United States”, the New York Times’ The Athletic reports, citing an administration official.

A source familiar with the situation told The Athletic that not all of the Iranian national squad’s intended travelling party had been granted visas to travel to the US from Mexico, its current base ahead of the tournament.

When The Athletic contacted the White House on the matter of the Iran national team’s visas yesterday, a US administration official said: “The visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued.

“We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”