sport news Iranian government officials 'took the team's PASSPORTS at halftime of 1998 ... trends now

Former USA coach Steve Sampson has claimed the Iranian government intervened at halftime of their 1998 World Cup clash, saying officials confiscated the Iran team's passports and threatened their safety if they failed to beat USA.

Iran won the group match 2-1 in Lyon, termed as 'the mother of all games' by US Soccer Federation Executive Director Hank Steinbrecher following the World Cup draw due to the long-standing political tensions between the two countries.

They meet again on Tuesday, with both teams needing a win to advance into the last-16 of the World Cup in Qatar. 

But speaking to TIME, the USA coach Sampson has detailed his memories of the highly-charged event, including one extraordinary detail.

Sampson claims he was told by Iran manager, Jalal Talebi, that Iranian government officials confiscated passports of the players at the halftime break, with Iran leading 1-0. 

And apparently players were told 'if they didn’t beat the United States, they were not welcome back into Iran, nor were their families welcome to leave Iran.'

FIFA procedure dictated Team B -- Iran -- were to walk over and shake hands of Team A, the US, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened to pull Team Melli out of the tournament resultantly. 

A compromise was struck whereby USA players instead went to their counterparts and shook hands before standing side-by-side for a pregame photo

Iranian players also gave USA players white roses during their exchange -- a symbolic gesture of peace. 

During the game, the US had their chances but Iran ultimately triumphed 2-1 in their second group game. To those involved, it was beyond an opportunity to claim three points.