FIFA to meet Iran on US World Cup participation

FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström is scheduled to meet with officials from the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) in Istanbul on Saturday to provide "reassurance" regarding Iran's participation in the World Cup, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Iran are scheduled to play all three World Cup group matches in the United States but the team's participation in the June 11 to July 19 tournament has been in question since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, News.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.

More questions arose after FFIRI President Mehdi Taj was refused entry to Canada for the FIFA Congress in Vancouver earlier this month because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Both the US and Canada, who are co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico, classify the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" and have made it clear they will not admit people with links to the elite military force.

Iran stresses right to participate

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, said in a social media post this week that it was incumbent on FIFA to ensure that all teams and their delegations were able to get into the host countries.

"The Iranian national football team has earned its right to participate on the field in accordance with FIFA regulations," he wrote.

"Any obstruction to the entry of players, technical staff, federation officials, or essential members of the Iranian delegation would violate the spirit and purpose of the World Cup ...

"If the organizing body cannot guarantee that all qualified teams, including Iran, can enter the host country without discrimination or restriction and compete on equal terms, the credibility of the World Cup itself will be damaged."

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli