“Iran will not be able to participate in this year’s FIFA World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, and other high-ranking officials. ‘Considering that this corrupt government assassinated our leader and created extreme insecurity, we cannot participate in the World Cup,’ said Ahmad Donyamali in statements broadcast by Iranian state television. ‘The players have no security and the conditions for participation simply do not exist.’”
The military campaign led by the US, along with its ally Israel, began at the end of February. An Israeli attack on February 28, partially facilitated by American intelligence, killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior officials. At least 1,300 Iranian civilians were killed, according to Amir Saeid Iravani, the country’s ambassador to the UN.
It was not immediately clear if Iran had formally withdrawn from the tournament. FIFA and the Iranian Football Federation did not immediately respond to NPR’s inquiries.
Following the meeting between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump on Tuesday, Infantino stated in a press release that Trump “reiterated that the Iranian national team is, obviously, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States”.
The withdrawal of a team from the World Cup so close to the start of the tournament is unprecedented in the modern era.
According to FIFA rules, a team that withdraws from a tournament can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and face a possible ban from future competitions.
FIFA would have broad discretion to replace Iran in the tournament with another team, such as an alternative from the Asian Football Confederation, like Iraq or the United Arab Emirates.
Source: npr.org