Iran’s football team have responded to Donald Trump warning them to stay away from the World Cup by calling for the USA to withdraw instead. This summer’s World Cup has been plunged into a crisis after the United States – co-hosts of the tournament – and Israel conducted a joint missile attack on Iran a fortnight ago, killing their supreme leader and sparking a bloody conflict.
The country’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali announced on Wednesday that ‘under no circumstances’ can Iran compete at the World Cup, despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisting that Trump would ‘welcome’ them. But the US President has since claimed that Iran shouldn’t travel to the tournament ‘for their own life and safety’.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “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.”
Iran’s team have hit back at Trump with a statement of their own, arguing that they ‘cannot be removed’ from the tournament. “The World Cup is a historic and international event, and its organiser is FIFA – not any single country,” they said.
“The Iranian national team also qualified for this event with authority and through consecutive victories, becoming one of the first teams to reach this great tournament. Certainly, no one can remove the Iranian national team from the World Cup.
“Rather, the country that should be removed is the one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ but does not have the ability to ensure security for the teams participating in this event.”
