Iraqi and Western sources revealed that the all-time top scorer of the Iraqi national football team, Ayman Hussein, was detained for several hours of questioning at Chicago airport after a picture was found on his phone showing him with the leader of the “Sadr Movement – the Shiite National Movement”, Muqtada al-Sadr. Meanwhile, the Iraqi embassy in Washington confirmed reports of two members of the national football team’s delegation being delayed in entering the American city.
Activists and bloggers circulated news of Hussein's detention, and according to these widely circulated reports, the discovery of that picture led to the detention of Iraq's top scorer and his interrogation for more than seven hours.
In this context, the famous French journalist, Romain Molina, criticized the American authorities over Hussein's detention.
Molina, known for his investigations into corruption in sports federations and for exposing numerous corruption cases in world football, said that “the player was treated like a terrorist,” questioning “the justifications for this action,” and pointing out that “being Iraqi seemed enough to deprive him of his rights and treat him in this way.”
As the news spread, the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in the United States rushed to reveal the circumstances of the delay in the entry of two members of the Iraqi national football team delegation into the city of Chicago, confirming that it was following up on the matter with the relevant American authorities to facilitate the arrival procedures for the delegation.
In a statement, it said that during the past few days it had made “strenuous efforts” through communication with the US State Department and relevant authorities, and in coordination with the competent authorities in the city of Chicago, Illinois, in order to facilitate and arrange the arrival of the Iraqi national team delegation consisting of 62 people.
She added that “all members of the mission entered the United States on June 5, 2026, smoothly, with the exception of two individuals, whose identities were not specified, who underwent additional procedures with the relevant US immigration authorities.”
The embassy indicated that it “followed the matter closely through continuous communication with the relevant American authorities, with the aim of understanding the details of the procedures and working to expedite their completion,” explaining that “the entry procedures for one of the two individuals were completed, while the other person was unable to enter for special reasons related to immigration procedures and the regulations in place at the competent authorities.”
The embassy also affirmed that “entry procedures into the United States fall largely within the jurisdiction of the US immigration authorities, as an independent body that applies relevant laws, standards and procedures to everyone, and whose decisions are not subject to interference from any other party.”
