Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, John said: « It’s a very emotional moment. Everybody’s saying a lot of things. At the end of the day, it’s the federation who should decide if they’re playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup. They are our member, we want them to play. You know, they qualified … so we hope that they will solve their issues, whatever it is, and be able to participate. »
Trump recently took to social media to clarify his stance on Iran’s participation in the World Cup this summer, reports the Mirror. Shortly after stating « I don’t care » when questioned about whether he felt the Middle Eastern nation should participate, he posted on his Truth Social page: « The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup.
« But I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP. »
Iran secured their place in the World Cup by topping Group A of the third round of AFC qualifying. Replacing Iran seems to be a complex process, as the next highest-ranked teams from the AFC that have not qualified are Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq recently defeated the UAE in a play-off leg and were due to face either Bolivia or Suriname in an intercontinental play-off in Monterrey, Mexico, on 31 March. The Iraqis recently requested FIFA to delay the match, due to many of their players being stuck in Baghdad, as the country’s airspace has been closed due to the war.
FIFA’s own rules, concerning the removal of a nation from the tournament and its replacement with another, are equally ambiguous. The governing body states it has « sole discretion » to withdraw a participating country from the competition and that it « may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association ».
In recent times, there exists no precedent for a nation pulling out or being expelled from the World Cup, nor has a host nation ever prohibited another country from taking part. FIFA have a congress scheduled for 30 April, and it’s believed to be improbable that any determination regarding Iran’s involvement will be reached beforehand, according to ESPN.
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