The war in the Middle East triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran has raised the question of whether the Iranian national team will take part in the World Cup later this year, during which it is due to play group games in the United States.

 What is Iran’s position? 

The possibility of a boycott of the World Cup has been raised in Iran.

Within hours of the joint US-Israeli strikes beginning on Saturday, Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj told Iranian television: “What is certain at the present time is that with this attack and this cruelty, we cannot look forward to the World Cup with hope.”

Taj also announced that the Iranian domestic league had been suspended.

“Team Melli”, as the Iranian national team are known, secured qualification in March last year for a seventh World Cup, and a fourth in a row.

Iran have been drawn in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand and are due to play two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

A large Iranian diaspora has lived in Los Angeles since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A large part of that diaspora backed the Pahlavi dynasty which was overthrown in the revolution.

What is FIFA’s position? 

World football’s governing body is remaining cautious regarding the possibility of Iran pulling out of the World Cup.

“We had a meeting… and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday.

A source close to FIFA said no discussions had yet taken place with the Iranian Football Federation regarding a possible withdrawal of the team from the tournament.

Tuesday marks exactly 100 days to the tournament’s opening game, and the situation in Iran could become acutely uncomfortable for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has been keen to show that he has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump.

All the more so as other countries in the Gulf who are due to take part in the World Cup have been drawn into the war, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan all being targeted by retaliatory Iranian strikes.

What do FIFA’s regulations say? 

FIFA’s regulations do not provide for the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup by a qualified team. A source close to world football’s governing body said “specific decisions” would have to be taken to replace Iran with another team if necessary.

Article 6 of the regulations for the 2026 World Cup says 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 whatever action is deemed necessary.”

If a team withdraws or is excluded from the competition, FIFA therefore has the freedom to take whatever decision it sees fit 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 their place.

At the moment, eight Asian teams have qualified for the first World Cup to feature 48 teams in total. There could yet be a ninth Asian team, if Iraq win an intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname, scheduled to be played on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.

Has a country boycotted a World Cup before? 

There have been boycotts of the Olympics, impacting most notably the Games in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles four years later, during the Cold War. But there has not yet been an equivalent situation at a World Cup.

Several qualified teams withdrew from the 1950 World Cup, but for different reasons. Turkey cited financial reasons, while Scotland said they would only go if they won the 1949/50 British Home Championship — FIFA said the top two out of the four teams would qualify, but Scotland finished second to 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 — barely two weeks before the tournament began. Denmark went on to win 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.

AFP

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