Iran Plans To Boycott World Cup Due To FIFA Peace Prize Winner’s Murderous, Unprovoked War

Iran's participation in the U.S.-hosted 2026 World Cup promised to be an uncertain, contentious matter even before the U.S. and Israel started raining bombs on Iranian political leaders and schoolgirls alike. The American government had already denied visas to several members of the delegation Iran planned to send to the World Cup draw back in December, as part of a blanket travel ban on Iranian citizens that would've prevented the vast majority of Iranian fans from being able to attend this summer's event. Another controversy arose soon after the draw, when Iranian and Egyptian officials raised a stink about a pre-planned LGBTQ Pride event in Seattle that the draw happened to schedule for a group-stage Iran-Egypt match. Naturally, those little points of friction, and the longstanding geopolitical tetchiness they reflected, came to a head in the form of the war that FIFA Peace Prize winner and known war criminal Donald Trump decided to wage on Iran. Iran's now-official response was hardly unexpected. "Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader," Iran sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday in reference to the U.S. government, "under ‌no circumstances ‌can we ⁠participate in the World Cup." He added, "Given the malicious actions they have carried ‌out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands ‌of our people. Therefore, we ⁠certainly cannot have such a presence." Donyamali's comments came on the heels of a related report on Tuesday, when FIFA president and autocrat ass-licker Gianni Infantino said on Instagram that he had met with our dear leader to talk about what the ongoing war meant for the World Cup, reporting back that "President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States." Infantino ended his message noting that "We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World." As for the man himself, when asked last week for his thoughts about Iran at the World Cup, Trump responded "I really don't care."