– What is Iran’s position? –
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In Iran, the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup has been raised.
Just hours after the joint attacks between the United States and Israel began on Saturday, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, told Iranian television: “What is certain at this moment is that with this attack and this cruelty, we cannot look with hope at the World Cup.”
Taj also announced that the Iranian national league had been suspended.
“Team Melli”, as the Iranian team is known, qualified for a seventh World Cup in March last year, and the fourth in a row.
Iran is drawn in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand and must play two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
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A large Iranian diaspora has lived in Los Angeles since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A large portion of that diaspora supported the Pahlavi dynasty, which was overthrown in the revolution.
– What is FIFA’s position? –
World football’s governing body remains cautious over the possibility of Iran withdrawing from the World Cup.
“We had a meeting… and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will closely follow developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday.
A source close to FIFA said there had not yet been any talks with the Iranian Football Federation about a possible withdrawal of the team from the tournament.
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Tuesday marks exactly 100 days since the opening match of the tournament and the situation in Iran could become extremely uncomfortable for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has wanted to show that he has a close relationship with US president Donald Trump.
All the more so as other Gulf countries taking part in the World Cup have been dragged into the war, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan have been targets of retaliatory Iranian attacks.
– What do the FIFA regulations say? –
FIFA regulations do not provide for the possibility of a qualified team boycotting the World Cup. A source close to world football’s governing body said “specific decisions” would have to be made to replace Iran with another team if necessary.
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Article 6 of the regulations for the 2026 World Cup say that “if a participating member association withdraws… as a result of force majeure,” FIFA “shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take such measures as it deems necessary.”
If a team withdraws or is excluded from the competition, FIFA is therefore free to make any decision it deems appropriate and “may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association.”
It would seem logical that an eventual absence of Iran from the competition would open the way for another Asian nation to take its place.
At the moment, eight Asian teams have qualified for the first World Cup, with a total of 48 teams. There could still be a ninth Asian team, if Iraq wins an intercontinental playoff against Bolivia or Suriname, scheduled to be played on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.
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– Has any country boycotted a World Cup before? –
There have been boycotts of the Olympic Games, especially those in Moscow in 1980 and those in Los Angeles four years later, during the Cold War. But an equivalent situation has not yet occurred in a World Cup.
Several qualified teams withdrew from the 1950 World Cup, but for different reasons. Türkiye cited financial reasons, while Scotland said they would only go if they won the 1949/50 British home championship. FIFA said the best two of the four teams would qualify, but Scotland finished second behind England and so refused to go.
Yugoslavia qualified for the 1992 European Championship, but the outbreak of war in the Balkans led to UEFA replacing them with Denmark, who had finished behind Yugoslavia in their qualifying group, just two weeks before the tournament began. Denmark won the trophy.
Russian clubs and national teams have been suspended from all international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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