Italy’s repechage to the World Cup, from Iran a provocation that causes discussion

The tension between Washington and Tehran could have repercussions on soccer as well, and a forfeit of Iran’s national team at the upcoming World Cup to be held from mid-June between the United States, Mexico and Canada cannot be ruled out.

Reached by Shargh newspaper, Iran’s soccer federation president Mehdi Taj updated fans on the state of affairs: “At the end of the week I will go to Zurich together with Hedayat Mombeini to discuss with Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s secretary general about World Cup participation. In addition, a trip to Ankara is planned to obtain visas for all members of the team.”

Italy is among the leading candidates to take Iran’s place in the rainbow competition as it is the highest ranked unqualified national team. Asked about the possibility of Iran’s replacement, Mehdi Taj issued a provocation, “If we declared that we did not want to participate in the World Cup, FIFA could legally replace us with another team and perhaps some people would not mind this happening…” The words of the president of the Iranian football federation sparked chaos on social media and many wondered who he was referring to with the last sentence.

Recently, striker Ali Alipour has been very clear about the Iranian national team’s participation in the World Cup: “It is our right and we have to fight for our country and its territorial integrity. We are Iran’s soldiers and, according to our duty, we will prove it on the field,” he told the Irna news agency.