Iran says World Cup participation depends on guarantee of respect

Iran’s football chief Mostafizur Rahman Sari, Mehdi Taj, said on Wednesday that he will meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the next three or four days to seek assurances that his country will be respected at the World Cup in the United States.

Canada, which co-hosts the World Cup with the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, said last week it had denied Taj entry, citing his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Taj said on Tuesday that Iran would not participate in the tournament if FIFA could not guarantee respect for the country’s institutions in the United States, where all of the Iranian team’s group stage matches are scheduled to be held.

“We will tell (FIFA) what our expectations are. If they can meet them, we will definitely participate,” the FFIRI president told state media IRIB in Tehran on Wednesday.

‘But if there is no guarantee of fulfilling them, no one has the right to insult us or the pillars of our system.’

“And if they continue the path of disrespect, even asking our players those kinds of questions, then we may make a different decision.”

Both the United States and Canada have listed the IRIB as a ‘terrorist entity’ and have made it clear that they will not grant access to individuals associated with this elite military force.

Taj, who served as a high-ranking official at IRIB before joining football administration, received the support of Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai on Wednesday.

“Look, our national football team is not just going to ‘tour’ the United States, but we are going to participate in the FIFA World Cup there,” Baghai told reporters in Tehran.

“Therefore, it is FIFA’s responsibility to ensure all the necessary facilities and environment.”

“Host governments also have a very clear obligation under FIFA rules to take the necessary measures and provide the necessary visas, without taking into account any political considerations or motives.”

“We hope that FIFA will take the necessary steps, at least in the interest of protecting its own dignity.”

Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in doubt since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February, triggering a war in the region.

Taj also said that an initial 30-man squad for the tournament will be selected this week. It will then be whittled down to a final 26 after a training camp in Turkey.

Iran coach Amir Galenoi told state media that the team plans to arrive in the United States 14 days before the tournament begins after the two-week camp.

Galenoi said he wanted the team to have two or three warm-up matches, but teams pulling out at the last minute made it difficult to organize international friendly matches.

So the team will stay in Tehran for another week. Then on May 16, they will leave for Turkey, where Iran played friendlies against Costa Rica and Nigeria in late March.

Team Melli is scheduled to begin its campaign with a match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. The team’s US base will be at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona.