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Iranian FA chief Mehdi Taj demanded that the United States respect Iran’s military institutions if the team is to participate in World Cup matches scheduled in California and Seattle in the coming months.
Taj’s comments come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that while the Iranian team would be allowed to compete on American soil, no person affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps would be allowed to cross the US border. Taj himself was a senior member of the IRGC before joining Iran’s football program.
“We are going to the World Cup for which we qualified and our host is FIFA – not Mr Trump or America,” Taj said on Tuesday.
“If they agree to host us, then they also have to agree that they can’t offend our military institutions in any way. Because if they do, obviously that could create the same kind of situation that happened in Canada, where there was a possibility that we might have to go back.”
FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO SAYS IRAN WILL ‘CERTAINLY’ PLAY IN WORLD CUP DESPITE CONFLICT INVOLVING US
Islamic Republic of Iran Football Association President Mehdi Taj during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between England and IR Iran at Khalifa International Stadium. (Photo by Harold Cunningham – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Taj’s comments referred to a trip he took to the FIFA Congress in Vancouver last week. Canada, like the US, designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and Taj’s visa was canceled mid-flight and he was forced to leave the country.
“We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system – especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said in Tehran on Tuesday.
“This is something they need to pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and responsibility is clearly accepted, then an incident like what happened in Canada will not happen again.”
TRUMP ENVOY ASKS FIFA TO REPLACE IRAN WITH ITALY IN 2026 WC: REPORT
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says no person affiliated with the IRGC will be allowed on US soil. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
An emissary for President Donald Trump reportedly asked FIFA in April to replace Iran with Italy at the 2026 World Cup.
US Special Envoy Paolo Zampolli proposed the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“I confirm that I have proposed to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at WC. I’m an Italian native and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a tournament held in the United States,” Zampolli told the Financial Times. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
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The Financial Times reported that the US made the proposal in part to help mend relations between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
