Trump says not ‘appropriate’ for Iran to participate in the World Cup in US

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Donald Trump has said that it would not be appropriate for Iran’s national football team to participate in the FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States in the summer.

The US president’s comment on Thursday came after Iranian authorities ruled out taking part in the football tournament amid the US-Israeli assault against their country.

“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,” Trump wrote in a social media post without elaborating.

This year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, is set to kick off on June 11.

Iran’s group-stage games — against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt — are scheduled to take place in the US, in the Los Angeles area and in Seattle, Washington.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is close to the US president, said in a social media post on Wednesday that Trump told him that the Iranian team would be welcomed in the US.

“We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World,” Infantino said.

The FIFA president established a “peace prize” and awarded it to Trump in December of last year, drawing criticism from rights advocates who questioned the football governing body’s commitment to political “neutrality”.

Less than four months after receiving the FIFA Peace Prize, Trump launched an all-out assault against Iran that has turned into a regional war, killing nearly 2,000 people and displacing many more.

FIFA has also faced broad criticism for what critics consider to be inconsistencies in how it addresses global conflict.

The association was quick to ban Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2021, but it has resisted calls to sanction Israel despite the genocidal war in Gaza. The Israeli football association’s links to teams based in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank has also drawn criticism and calls for suspension.

With Iran unlikely to participate in the upcoming World Cup, FIFA will decide how to deal with the team’s absence.

“If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary,” the tournament’s regulations read.

“FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”

It is unclear whether FIFA has time to replace Iran. One option could be choosing the highest-ranked team in Asia that did not make it to the tournament.

Iran’s Group G could also play out with special rules with three teams instead of four.