The Iranian Football Federation demanded this week that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) oust Israel from its soccer bodies in response to Israel’s military operations in June to contain the threat of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj wrote to FIFA officials in a letter Iranian state media revealed on Tuesday claiming that Israeli airstrikes on the country in June resulted in the death of at least one soccer official and dozens of soccer players injured. He did not name those implicated, nor has the Iranian Islamic regime offered any evidence for its claims of casualties by Israel.
The letter also expressed concerns about the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup. Iran has already qualified to compete in the world’s most prestigious soccer tournament, which Canada and Mexico will co-host, and would have to participate in games in America if the team advances beyond the round-robin level. The World Cup final game is scheduled to take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
President Donald Trump imposed limits on Iranian nationals entering the United States this year in response to the country’s status as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, which may affect the ability of players, coaches, and other staff to obtain visas to enter America.
Taj, the head of the Iranian football body, reportedly said on Monday that he had addressed his letter to Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, senior vice-president of the FIFA Council., and emphasized in his claim that the Israeli government had killed an Iranian referee.
“We wrote that a decision must be made on this matter. We also wrote to FIFA, itself, stating that Israel should be shown a red card and expelled from the body,” Taj said, according to the Iranian state propaganda website PressTV. “[The Israelis] attacked our territorial integrity, they attacked the Football Federation itself, they attacked the national team’s training camp, and they martyred our referee.”
The Israeli outlet Ynet News reported that the letter claimed Israel was guilty of “murdering Iranian athletes” and that 30 soccer players had been injured in the military attacks in June.
Israel is not typically a contender for the World Cup crown. Its men’s team has only qualified for the World Cup tournament once, but is still playing qualifiers to secure a spot in the tournament. The team is part of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), so it must compete with European teams to enter the World Cup draw.
Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” in June, hours after the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that it had evidence indicating that Iran was violating international law with its increasingly prodigious uranium enrichment program. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told the IAEA board that Iran was keeping secret nuclear development sites and “sanitizing” them to hide them from the agency’s inspectors.
Operation Rising Lion killed some of Iran’s most prominent nuclear scientists, military planners, and terror officials. Among the highest-ranking to be eliminated was Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is both a formal arm of the Iranian military and a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
This round of hostilities ended shortly after the United States became involved. President Donald Trump announced on June 21 that he had approved airstrikes to destroy Iran’s illicit nuclear enrichment sites at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” he announced.
Taj, the Iranian soccer official, described America in his letter to FIFA as a “hostile” country that would serve poorly as a host for the Iranian soccer team.
“It is hostile toward our country and bears a deep-seated animosity,” he reportedly said. “There is absolutely no doubt about this. No one should be optimistic [about its behavior]. They will carry out any act of mischief they are capable of.”
The PressTV report did not indicate that Taj recommended any action against the United States, but he predicted that the Trump administration could refuse to offer visas to the national team or its staff.
“There is also a chance they might try to humiliate us,” he added.
The travel ban that raised some concern about Iran’s ability to participate in the World Cup includes exceptions for extraordinary circumstances that some observers believe could be used for the Iranian soccer team. The World Cup draw is expected to begin in December.
FIFA has yet to address the visa situation in public, nor has it commented on the Iranian letter at press time. The global soccer organization has been enthusiastically supportive of America as a World Cup host, however. FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the White House in March for a ceremony to sign an executive order creating a federal-level task force on hosting the tournament.
“The economic impact is 40 billion U.S. dollars between now and next year. We will create 200,000 jobs for these two World Cups. And more than that, we will give joy and happiness to the entire world,” Infantino said, comparing hosting the World Cup to “three Super Bowls every day for one month.”
Trump has stated that he would attend the tournament and has promised the “biggest, safest, and most extraordinary soccer tournament in history.”
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