After women players defect, Iran hints men will skip World Cup

Follow our live coverage here.

PARIS – The head of the Iran football federation on March 10 cast further doubt on his country’s participation in this summer’s World Cup, saying that the Iranian women playing in the Asian Cup in Australia had been coerced into defecting.

“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state television.

The men’s World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, but Iran is scheduled to play all three group games in the United States, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

The team’s participation has been in out doubt since the United States and Israel started their attacks on Iran which launched reprisals.

On March 10, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, players from Iran’s team claimed asylum.

Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim sanctuary from Australian officials, the Australian government announced.

Some of the players had been branded “wartime traitors” by Iranian state television after remaining silent during the national anthem before their opening loss to South Korea.

Every player saluted and sang the anthem before the next two group games. Iran lost both those matches and were eliminated after a defeat to the Philippines on March 8.

Taj said the players had done their part during the anthem, while blaming US President Donald Trump for the whole issue.

“The US president himself... tweeted two tweets about a women’s team (saying) ‘We welcome them and that they should become refugees’,” he said.

“He threatened Australia that ‘If you don’t grant them asylum, I will give them asylum in the US’. How could one be optimistic about the World Cup that is supposed to be held in America?”

According to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, Mr Trump has said Iran is “welcome” to compete at the World Cup.

Taj claimed the five women players had been kidnapped and the team were obstructed as they tried to leave Australia.

“After the game, unfortunately, the Australian police came and intervened, removing one or two of the players from the hotel, according to the news we have,” he said.

He made reference to an alleged air strike on a school in Minab at the start of the war which Iran has blamed on Israel and the US.

“They martyred our girls in Minab, 160 of them, and in this incident, they are taking our girls hostage,” Taj said. “They did a terrible thing. Last night, some people came and lay down in front of the car they were driving to the airport.”

Crowds had gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium for the game against the Philippines, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran”, an AFP reporter saw. Supporters surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “let them go” and “save our girls”.

Taj said that at the airport, the squad had trouble boarding their flight. “They completely blocked them at the gate and told everyone to become refugees.”

In the latest developments, Australian police helped two more members of the Iranian delegation slip their minders to claim asylum, but one has changed her mind and decided to go back to Iran, the country’s interior minister said on March 11.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament the squad member’s decision to return home. Meanwhile, a player and a support staff member accepted the government’s open offer of aid on March 10.

“One of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who had left, and had changed her mind,” Mr Burke told parliament.

“In Australia, people are able to change their mind... we respect the context in which she has made that decision.” AFP, REUTERS