Iran’s government will only decide on the national team’s participation in the World Cup once they receive a response from FIFA over the relocation of their matches, the country’s Minister of Sport Ahmad Donyamali said.
Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) has been pushing to move the team’s three World Cup group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico, citing American military involvement alongside Israel in strikes that sparked an ongoing war in the region. FFIRI said last month they were in discussions with FIFA about a venue switch, while Iran’s sports ministry has banned national and club sports teams from travelling to countries it considers hostile until further notice. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last week, however, that Iran would play their matches as scheduled. “Our request to FIFA to relocate Iran’s games from the U.S. to Mexico is still valid, but we have not yet received a response,” Donyamali told Turkish state news agency Anadolu in an interview published at the weekend.