\n<\/p>\n
Italian government officials have hit back at suggestions that their national football team could still be sent to the World Cup 2026, even if already-qualified Iran does not compete at the finals.<\/p>\n
Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran\u2019s participation in this summer\u2019s edition of FIFA\u2019s global showpiece has been in doubt because all of the country\u2019s group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the US.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The tournament is co-hosted with the US by Canada and Mexico, leading to suggestions that Iran\u2019s games could be played at alternative venues.<\/p>\n The speculation about Iran\u2019s participation has been rife, with officials from both Iran and the US weighing in on the topic, including US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n In a statement on Wednesday, however, Iran\u2019s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said all necessary arrangements for the team\u2019s effective participation in the tournament have been ensured by the Ministry of Sports and Youth.<\/p>\n An envoy for Trump, though, has been quoted as suggesting that Italy, who have failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight edition, should replace Iran at this year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who is \u2060a US envoy for global relations, told the Financial Times that he made the suggestion to both Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,\u201d said Zampolli, who has no official connection with the World Cup \u2060or Italian football.<\/p>\n The plan seems to be an effort by Zampolli to repair ties after Trump and Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni fell out amid the US leader\u2019s attacks against Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.<\/p>\n The suggestion, though, did not come from Trump or anyone within his administration.<\/p>\n Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has rebuked the idea, saying \u201cit \u200cis not appropriate\u2026 You qualify on the pitch,\u201d while Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti described the concept as \u201cshameful\u201d.<\/p>\n The suggestion has also provoked embarrassment from Azzurri fans, with Italian media reminding readers that the idea has a very familiar feel.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s main sports news websites gave the story only a passing reference, but politicians and officials were quick to reject the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible,\u201d Italian Olympic Committee President Luciano Buonfiglio said. \u201cSecond, I\u2019d feel offended. In order to go to the World Cup, you have to earn it\u201d.<\/p>\n Leading Italian coach Gianni De Biasi told Reuters it was an unlikely proposal, with any theoretical Iranian absence logically to be filled by the team behind them in the qualifiers.<\/p>\n \u201cFurthermore, I believe Italy doesn\u2019t need Trump\u2019s support on an issue like this. I think we can manage on our own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n David Aganzo, president of Spain\u2019s Association of Footballers and former head of the global players\u2019 union FIFPRO, was a little more cautious, saying: \u201cPeople who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit. We all agree on that, and we\u2019re going to make that clear to FIFA.<\/p>\n \u201cBut let\u2019s take a look at the issues involved, as there may be different perspectives or situations in this regard that we might \u2060not be aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n Football\u2019s world governing body FIFA responded by pointing to Infantino\u2019s previous comments on Iran\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranian team is coming, \u2060for sure,\u201d he told last week\u2019s CNBC Invest in America Forum: \u201cThey really want to play, and they should play. Sport should be outside politics.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, there is no suggestion that Iran will withdraw or be banned from the tournament, which Italy missed out on after losing in \u2060a playoff for the third World Cup in a row.<\/p>\n Iran qualified for a fourth successive World Cup last year but, after the start of the war, requested that FIFA move the team\u2019s three group matches from the US to Mexico \u2013 a suggestion that was rejected.<\/p>\n Iran is seemingly \u2060proceeding as planned. \u201cWe are preparing and making arrangements for the World Cup, but we are obedient to the \u2060decisions of the authorities,\u201d Iranian football federation President Mehdi Taj told reporters at a pro-government rally in Tehran on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Four years ago, Zampolli, when he was a United Nations ambassador, wrote to Infantino saying that \u201cthe world is demanding\u201d that he disqualify Iran because of the country\u2019s poor human rights record. He suggested then that the team be replaced with Italy.<\/p>\n The request was ignored as Iran took part and went out after the group stage, having lost to England and \u200cthe US and beaten Wales.<\/p>\n In the seemingly unlikely scenario of Iran being excluded, the decision on who would replace them lies in the hands of FIFA, which, under Article Six of the World Cup regulations, is at liberty to call up any nation it chooses.<\/p>\n The Asian Football Confederation would be expected to lobby hard for the replacement to come from \u200cAsia, with the United Arab Emirates, who lost a qualifying playoff to Iraq last November, the obvious choice.<\/p>\n The World Cup gets under way on June 11 with Iran scheduled to kick off their campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles four days later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Italian government officials have hit back at suggestions that their national football team could still be sent to the World Cup 2026, even if already-qualified Iran does not compete at the finals. Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran\u2019s participation in this summer\u2019s edition of FIFA\u2019s global showpiece has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Italy missing third successive World Cup<\/h2>\n
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