With the conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces intensifying, Sky Sports looks at how the Middle East crisis is affecting sport…FootballIran’s participation in the World Cup has been called into question after United States – co-hosts – and Israel launched air strikes at the country over the weekend, as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
The Iran football federation president, Mehdi Taj, told local state media that “after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.” He added “sports chiefs” would make a final decision on whether they could play or not.
General secretary of FIFA Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday: “I think it’s premature to comment on it in detail, but of course we will monitor the developments around all issues around the world, and I think we had the final draw in Washington where all teams participated, and of course our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”Sky Sports News contacted FIFA on Monday and understands FIFA’s stance has not changed in the last 48 hours.
There are 101 days to go before the tournament gets under way.
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The 2026 World Cup starts on June 11
So if Iran pull out of the World Cup, what options do FIFA have?World football’s governing body does have the authority to call in a replacement, should Iran not take part. Or they could make a slight change to the tournament make-up.
Article 6 of FIFA’s 2026 World Cup regulations focuses on cases of non-participation. Regulation 6.5 relates to “force majeure”, which is an unforeseen event. “If a Participating Member Association withdraws or a match cannot be played or is abandoned as a result of force majeure, the authorised FIFA organising body (including the Tournament Operation Centre) shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.”Regulation 6.7 then states: “If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”In summary, FIFA has two options if Iran do not, or cannot play: draft in a replacement nation, or alter the rules of the competition so Iran’s group would be a three-team…
2026-03-02 17:31:00
