FIFA must axe Iran from World Cup over support for Russian invasion: Ukrainian team
Iran plays in the second game of the World Cup, on Nov. 21 against England, and then faces Wales and the United States in Group B. Wales qualified by beating Ukraine in the playoffs in June in a game that was delayed from March by the war.FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, if an Asian team was suspended there would be no precedent for FIFA to replace it with a European team at the World Cup.
Soccer’s world body does not typically suspend member federations because of military decisions by a national government, though Yugoslavia was barred from trying to qualify for the 1994 World Cup after United Nations sanctions were imposed during the war in the Balkans.FIFA has suspended Russian teams following its invasion of Ukraine, which barred Russia from playing in the World Cup qualifying playoffs in March.
FIFA normally only suspends national teams when the country’s government is judged to have interfered in the independent running of the national soccer federation. Five Asian confederation teams advanced to the World Cup to join host Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates was the next best in qualifying. The UAE lost a regional playoff in June to Australia ahead of the intercontinental playoffs.