The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has offered a gloomy outlook on the World Cup which will be held this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada, a day after the United States and Israel began air attacks against his country, and he has assured that he “does not see any hope” of being able to participate.
“What is certain is that, after this attack, we cannot be expected to look towards the World Cup with hope. The American regime has attacked our homeland, and this is an incident that will not go unanswered,” Taj told the sports website Varzesh3 this Sunday.
Iran has been drawn into Group G of the World Cup, along with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt and will play its three games in the United States. FIFA has stated that it is closely monitoring the situation.
The White House does not comment on Iran’s participation in the World Cup
The director of the White House task force for the World Cup, Andrew Giuliani, He did not want to talk on Saturday about what will happen with the Asian team in the event. “Tomorrow we will deal with football games; tonight we celebrate your opportunity for freedom,” he said.
The team’s preparations for the World Cup will be hampered because no matches will be played during the 40-day mourning period for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during Saturday’s attacks. This will affect league matches and planned preparations for the World Cup.
Iran is one of several countries whose citizens are not allowed to enter the United States.but US President Donald Trump has said that exceptions will be made for athletes, officials and family members participating in the World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Iran has responded to attacks by the United States and Israel by launching missiles and drones against Israel and countries in the region that are allies of the United States and where the country has military bases, such as Bahrain and Qatar.
Other sports events are also affected
The hostilities also led tire maker Pirelli to cancel Formula 1 testing in Bahrain and there are doubts over the start of the Global Champions Tour equestrian series next weekend in Qatar.
Pirelli said wet tire tests on Saturday and Sunday at the Sakhir circuit were canceled for safety reasons, but that all its employees were safe in the capital, Manama, and that they were arranging their return to Britain and Italy. The Formula 1 season begins next Sunday in Australia. The races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are scheduled for April 12 and 19, respectively.
