Pushing back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments, Iran’s national soccer team says “no one can exclude” it from playing in the men’s World Cup in the United States.
Instead, a post on the team’s official Instagram account Thursday suggested maybe the U.S. team should be excluded after Trump indicated that the host country couldn’t guarantee the safety of the Iranian players.
Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday that the Iranian team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war with Iran but that “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Iran is set to play all three of its World Cup group games in the U.S., which is co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada.
The regional war has put doubt on Iran’s ability to fulfil its World Cup entry, and sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV this week the current circumstances meant it was not possible to play.
But the Iran team’s riposte on Instagram confirmed it still wants to participate, and pointed out that the tournament is run by FIFA — not Trump or the U.S.
“The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA — not any individual, country,” the post said. “Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.”
Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt
