Russia is not the last? Another team called to be kicked out of the World Cup
Iran has fallen under the distribution of human rights activists, and the Italians are rubbing their hands.
The upcoming World Cup, which did not even have time to start, has already broken all records for the intensity of passions. Publications about the plight of workers in Qatar, suspicions in the economy against football officials and, finally, the removal of the Russian national team … it would matter, where next? But that is not all.
Rumors are spreading more and more actively that another national team will be expelled from the World Cup.
What was the fault of Serdar Azmun’s team? And why do the Italians hope that this will play into their hands?
Return to 2019
The scandal that unfolded around the qualifying camp with the Lebanese, which took place on March 29, became the reason for talking about initiating a criminal case against the Iranian team. Stadium security officials prevented two women present from entering the arena who wanted to watch the match live, despite the existence of a travel ban for females in the country.
Moreover, the guards used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Iranian football has not known such a high-profile performance since 2019, when 29-year-old Hoda Saharayari staged an act of self-immolation in front of the courthouse. She was facing jail time for breaking into a male match.
Information immediately began to appear in the media that Iran might now be suspended from the World Cup, like Russia. The Italian media especially tried. Their turn of events was very encouraging.
Italians rejoice in vain
The European champions, who were eliminated from North Macedonia in the junctions, are sure that instead of the eliminated team, the team with the highest rating should get to the World Cup. This is, of course, Italy. Only here in FIFA they urge not to rush to conclusions. FIFA Council member Evelina Christillin (by the way, Italian) recently cooled the ardor of compatriots.
– We are not discussing the exclusion of Iran from the number of participants in the World Cup. Even if we decided to take such a step, another Asian team would go to the tournament instead of them, and not Italy. Let’s just forget about it, it’s a utopia, – quotes the official Football Italia.
Open video
Such reasoning is fair. Be that as it may, for the Italians to still happen at the World Cup, it would be wrong to violate quotas because of this. So FIFA President Gianni Infantino does not even want to discuss the issue of excluding Iran. Although he admits that he himself would have looked at the Italians with pleasure.
– Let’s be serious. Of course, I’m sorry that there will be no Italy. But she almost always participated in the world championships. And we must give hope to all countries. I remember how happy I was as a child when I watched this player. I want people all over the world to feel the same,” says Infantino.
FIFA doesn’t really care about Iranian women’s rights?
Human rights organizations around the world are calling on FIFA to take part in the World Cup, as well as to ban the athlete’s team from the World Cup. However, it is unlikely that the organization will go along with the activists and change its mind. Officials have their own ideas about what is worthy of a ban and what is not.
In words, of course, they condemn discrimination against women and write beautiful paragraphs in their programs about how women’s football athletes should be. But this problem is not critical. After all, the World Cup is in a country where the social structure is in many ways similar to the Iranian one. And then the problems of Asia are the problems of Asia. It seems that refined Europeans have no desire to understand them.