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2 min readJun 10, 2026 01:02 PM IST
Former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro, the new coach of the Uzbekistan national soccer team, smiles during his news conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/File)
Fabio Cannavaro and his Uzbekistan squad were stopped and searched by security officials on Monday evening upon arrival for a pre-tournament warm-up match against the Netherlands, in footage that has drawn widespread criticism of the United States’ hosting of the 2026 World Cup.
Video broadcast by ESPN in Central America shows the entire Uzbekistan coaching and playing staff being made to step off their team coach and submit to searches by security personnel bearing metal-detecting wands. Bags and equipment were placed in a pile on the floor outside the vehicle. A sniffer dog and its handler were present throughout.
The incident is not isolated. Footage of the Senegal national team receiving similar treatment on the tarmac after landing in the United States has circulated online. Somalian referee Omar Artan has been denied entry to the country entirely and will be unable to participate in the tournament.
Cannavaro, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d’Or winner, took charge of Uzbekistan earlier this year after the central Asian nation qualified for their first World Cup in 34 years of independence. In a December interview with the Guardian, he described what drew him to the project.
“This one I did because it’s a young national team, with many talented young players,” he said. “The federation is focusing a lot on academies across Uzbekistan and they’re producing good players. That was important for me.”
He had spent 40 days travelling across the country immediately after taking the job, watching matches daily. “They weren’t used to that,” he told the Guardian. “Many foreign coaches watched a few games and then left.”
Of his players, he said: “Uzbeks are tough, people who fight, who never give up. Playing against them is a pain in the arse.”
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It is the World Cup that was not thinkable for Uzbekistan 30 years ago. On Monday night, its coach and squad stood outside a bus while their bags were searched.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Cannavaro questioned why his team had been singled out.
“They said to me it’s the rules, but in the end the check was only for us,” he said. “You need to ask them.”
FIFA has not commented.
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