The Iranian men’s national soccer team has delivered a harsh rebuke to President Trump after the commander in chief said the team’s presence at this year’s World Cup may not be “appropriate.”
Earlier on Thursday, Trump reassured the Iranian team that they were welcome to attend the World Cup being held in the United States this year, but expressed concern for their safety.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The team said in a statement posted to their Instagram story that the World Cup is governed by FIFA, “not an individual, [sic] country.”
“Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event,” the team wrote.
The Iranian team’s status has been the topic of much discussion since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.
On Wednesday, Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali seemed to put an exclamation point on the team’s refusal to attend by blasting Trump as an assassin.
“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali said on state television.
Of course, the World Cup does not even begin until June 11, and Iran could very well be under new leadership or in some state of transition at that time.
Earlier this week, President Trump played a crucial role in convincing the Australian government to extend offers of amnesty to members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team after their participation in the Asia Cup tournament. Eventually, six women decided to seek asylum in Australia.
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