A special envoy for Washington has revealed his pressure campaign targeting FIFA to ditch the Islamic Republic
Italian officials have rebuked a US proposal for their national football team to replace Iran at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Italy lost the chance to participate at the World Cup for a third successive time after a humiliating penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff last month, triggering widespread backlash at home and leading to the resignation of the head of the national football federation.
However, an American proposal to give Italy Iran’s spot at the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico this summer, sparked indignation in Rome.
The proposal is impossible and inappropriate, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told the Italian news agency La Press, stressing: “You qualify on the pitch.” Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called the idea “shameful.”
The possibility of a swap was raised by Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who heads the Office of Global Partnerships at the US State Department, and who described his lobbying efforts to the Financial Times and Corriere della Sera. Zampolli argues that “Italy, not Iran, should go to the World Cup,” and says he would be disappointed if he couldn’t see Italian players “on home soil.”
The US war on Iran has cast uncertainty over the Islamic Republic’s participation in the tournament. Iranian officials have issued mixed signals, with some calling for the the team’s matches to be relocated from the US to Mexico.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is Swiss-born and also holds Italian citizenship, has maintained that Iran is expected to compete in the US. The international association referred to his remarks, when asked about Zampolli’s pitch.
The media described the envoy’s lobbying as an attempt to repair newly strained US-Italy relations. Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo and later Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who rebuked him for targeting the pontiff.
According to Corriere della Sera, securing the participation of Italy – who are four-time World Cup winners – could also carry domestic political benefits for Trump, potentially boosting Republican support among Italian-American voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Separately, media reports last week stated that Trump’s special envoy for combating anti-Semitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, warned European officials they could face travel restrictions during the World Cup in retaliation for alleged lapses in addressing the issue.
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