Rabat – With 100 days until the kickoff of the FIFA World Cup Iran’s participation is being called into question since the start of the country’s war with the US and Israel.
US-Israel strikes on Saturday, which initiated the current escalation, killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since responded in a continued series of retaliatory strikes, targeting Israel, US military bases, and the Gulf States.
As an additional result of the conflict, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, one of the largest shipping channels in the world representing approximately 31% of all seaborne crude oil flow.
As tensions between the US and Iran continue to mount, so are doubts surrounding Iran’s participation in the World Cup. The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico; and all three of Iran’s group stage games are set to be played in the United States, two in Inglewood, CA and one in Seattle.
President of the Iranian Football Federation, Medhi Taj told local media “What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.”
For US President Donald Trump’s part, he told Politico that he really does not care about Iran playing in the tournament, adding that “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”
Several possibilities might prevent Iran from participating in the World Cup, the most likely being either team withdrawal, or barred from competing by the United States.
What happens if Iran does not compete?
FIFA regulation (Articles 6.5 and 6.7) state that if a team withdraws or faces unforeseen circumstances, the football body has full discretion to decide the outcome. Options include reducing Iran’s group to three teams or selecting a replacement nation.
Speculation points to Iraq as the leading candidate to replace Iran, with Uzbekistan also on standby after being instructed by FIFA to prepare.
While the UAE has been mentioned, its chances appear lower given recent playoff results. It’s important to note that FIFA rules allow replacements from any confederation, though history suggests they would likely select another Asian team.
FIFA has not commented on what they intend to do should Iran be unable to compete. FIFA’s general secretary, Mattias Grafström, merely said on Saturday that “our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating,”
If Iran withdrew, they would be the first team to boycott the World Cup since the USSR in 1974. Iran had already threatened to boycott the World Cup after several members of the delegation were barred from getting visas for the World Cup draw in December of last year.
Last June President Trump issued a travel ban on all Iranian nationals preventing them from getting visas. However, this travel ban has an exception for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event.”