Iranian Minister of Sport Ahmad Donyamali on Wednesday said that Iran would not take part in the FIFA World Cup being cohosted by the US, the clearest indication yet of the potential for a first withdrawal from global soccer’s showpiece event in the modern era.
While that has not officially happened, minds at FIFA must now address more urgently the prospect of having to replace Iran in the tournament that is to start in the US, Mexico and Canada in early June.
Donyamali said it would be impossible for Iran to take part after air attacks launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28 killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a region-wide conflict.
Photo: AP
While it always seemed counterintuitive that Iran would take part in a World Cup while at war with one of the cohosts, FIFA on Tuesday were still clearly banking on them lining up for their first group game against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
Only a few hours before Donyamali’s statement, FIFA president Gianni Infantino trumpeted an assurance from US President Donald Trump that Iran were “welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
A withdrawal would be governed by Article 6 of the World Cup regulations which, while stipulating a series of financial penalties for such a move, also states that FIFA would be at liberty to call up any nation it chooses to fill the void.
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