Donald Trump has seemingly changed his opinion on the participation of Iran in World Cup. Earlier this week, he met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and Infantino said that Iran is "of course welcome" to play World Cup in the United States, showing "once again that Football Unites the World" (in caps).
However, on Thursday evening, Trump posted on his social media Truth Social something quite different. "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety".
It's almost certain that Iran won't be in the World Cup, where they are scheduled to play three group matches in Seattle and Los Angeles. Hours after Infantino's announcement, the Minister of Sports said that "given that this corrupt government has murdered our leader, there are no conditions under which we can participate in the World Cup".
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However, it remains uncertain what will happen. After Trump's post, the Iranian national team responded on social media, reminding that "The World Cup is a historic and international event, and its organiser is FIFA—not any single country", and that no country has the power to exclude another from the competition. "Rather, the country that should be removed is the one that merely carries the title of 'host' but does not have the ability to ensure security for the teams participating in this event", they added.
A formal submission of withdrawal will have to be made to FIFA, and Iran would likely face sanctions, not also economic, also sporting, for withdrawing the competition, although the punishment would ultimately be decided by FIFA... whose president Gianni Infantino is a big Trump supporter.