KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Reuters) – The Asian Football Confederation said on Monday it has not received any notification from Iran that it will withdraw its national soccer team from the World Cup.
Iran have qualified for the 48-team tournament to be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June 11 and are scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Iran‘s sports minister has said it was impossible for the players to participate in the tournament after the U.S. launched airstrikes alongside Israel against Tehran, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said last week Iran was welcome to participate in the World Cup but that he believed it was not appropriate that they be there “for their own life and safety”.
“It’s a very emotional moment. Everybody’s saying a lot of things,” AFC General Secretary Windsor John told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
“At the end of the day, it’s the federation who should decide if they’re playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup.
“They are our member, we want them to play. You know, they qualified … so we hope that they will solve their issues, whatever it is, and be able to participate.”
An official withdrawal by Iran from soccer’s global showpiece would be the first in the modern era and leave FIFA with the urgent task of finding a replacement.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.
(Reporting by Hasnoor Hussain; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Peter Rutherford )
