MEXICO CITY (AP) – The Iranian embassy in Mexico announced Tuesday that the country is negotiating with FIFA to change the venue for Iran’s World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico after President Donald Trump takes office. disappointed Team refrains from participating tournamentciting safety concerns.
It is unclear whether such discussions are taking place with FIFA, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iranian officials have previously said it is the responsibility of FIFA and the United States to keep the team safe during the World Cup.
The embassy posted: statement Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said Iran wants to hold group stage matches in Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.
“If President Trump makes it clear that he cannot ensure the safety of the Iranian national team, we will definitely not travel to the United States,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to host Iran’s match at the Mexico World Cup.”
The World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand on June 16th and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 21st before completing group play in Seattle. Match against Egypt on June 26th.
Changing matches three months before the start of the World Cup is unprecedented.
President Trump said last week that he welcomed Iran’s participation in the World Cup. Despite the ongoing war in the Middle East But “for their own lives and safety, I just don’t think it’s appropriate for them to be there.”
Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the United States and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic Republic of Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei There are dozens of other senior figures.
Minister of Sports Ahmad Donyamali told state television last week that it was impossible for him to play “because of the evil acts we have committed against Iran.”
However, after President Trump’s post, national team He said on Instagram that “no one can be excluded” from the tournament, and a Tehran government spokesperson emphasized the reason for this. responsibility To ensure player safety, we are working with FIFA and the United States as co-host.
“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “The issuing of the highest level warning that the environment is unsafe for Iranian football players shows the host country’s clear lack of capacity and capacity to provide security for such an important sporting event.”
Soccer is closely followed in Iran, a country of more than 90 million people, which has qualified for seven men’s World Cups and each of the last four. The team is ranked 20th in the world by FIFA, second only to Japan in Asia.
FIFA has not commented in recent days. Instagram post President Gianni Infantino said last week that he received assurances from President Trump that Iran would be welcomed to the convention.
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