World Cup 2022, Italy repechage: Iran at risk of exclusion

The Azzurri’s chances of going to Qatar remain minimal even in case of a disqualification of the Tehran selection

With less than a month to go before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar 2022, rumors are mounting about a possible exclusion of a national team in extremis. In the crosshairs is Iran, placed in Group B with England, the United States and Wales.

The latest internal events in the Middle Eastern country, which faces an uprising after the death in prison of Mahsa Amini, have given impetus to an initiative composed of Iranian footballers, sportsmen and activists, who have sent a formal letter to FIFA, accusing Iran of curtailing civil rights: “Iran’s brutality against its own people has reached a critical point, and this calls for an unequivocal and firm disassociation from the world of soccer and sports. Women are constantly banned from entering stadiums, a systematic practice to exclude them completely from the soccer pyramid.”

“It is clear that the Iranian Football Federation is simply following and applying government guidelines, and therefore cannot be seen as an independent organization free from any form or type of influence. This is a violation (Article 19) of the FIFA statutes.”

Rumors of a possible disqualification (which remains remote due to the short time available for FIFA to act) have heated up fans on social media about the possibility of a repechage of the Azzurri national team as the reigning European champion team: a vain hope, since in case of exclusion of the Tehran selection in pole position for the replacement would be a representative of the same confederation as the excluded one. Then the United Arab Emirates, defeated in the play-offs by Australia.

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