'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='prefix__paint0_linear_4737_37157'%20x1='3.018'%20y1='23.6'%20x2='44.925'%20y2='24.977'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%231CB7FF'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='.502'%20stop-color='%232FF58B'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Iran withdraws from World Cup: "This corrupt government has murdered our leader, we cannot participate"
Mar 11 2026 13:11 · By ALBERTO RUBIO/RYAN MITCHELL · 63 Reads
G ianni Infantino's attempt to reach out to Iran has 'blown up'. "I spoke to Trump about the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the World Cup ," said the FIFA president.
"During the conversations, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is of course welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States. We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever," Infantino stressed
President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is of course welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States
However, Ahmad Doyanmali, Iran's Minister of Sports , insisted in an interview with DPA on the decision not to attend the World Cup : "Since this corrupt government has murdered our leader, there are no conditions under which we can participate in the World Cup".
"Two wars have been imposed on us in eight or nine months and several thousand of our citizens have been killed . Therefore, we have no chance to participate in this way," Doyanmali insisted . "If the host country were another, surely the international community would have reacted and would have withdrawn the venue," the Iranian Minister of Sports reportedly said.