Formal calls to kick Iran out of the 2022 World Cup

Football’s world governing body FIFA have received formal calls to ban Iran from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The calls in question are linked to the government’s repression of women, but there has also been international criticism after a violent response to anti-government protests and the revelation that Iran has deployed military experts to Ukraine to help Russian troops use kamikaze drones.

A group of Iranian football and sports personalities have sent a formal request to the body asking it to suspend the Iranian Football Association. They argue that government intervention to ban women from stadia in Iran contravenes FIFA rules.

They said: “Neutrality from FIFA is not an option.

“Iran’s brutality and belligerence towards its own people has reached a tipping point, demanding an unequivocal and firm disassociation from the footballing and sports world.

“Women have been consistently denied access to stadia across the country and systematically excluded from the football ecosystem in Iran, which sharply contrasts with FIFA’s values and statutes.

“If women are not allowed into stadia across the country, and the Iranian Football Federation is simply following and enforcing governmental guidelines, they cannot be seen as an independent organisation and free from any form or kind of influence. This is a violation of (Article 19) of FIFA’s statutes.”

The request comes amid a flood of protests in the nation, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police for wearing her hijab too loosely. There have been weeks of violence after the death, and the government has responded with brutal force.

Last month, the human rights group Open Stadiums issued a similar request after women were banned from watching games in their own country. Women were allowed into a domestic match at the end of September for the first time since 1979, but there is scepticism that stadia will remain open. There is no outright ban on women attending sporting events in Iran, but they are often refused entry.

FIFA is yet to comment on the specific requests, although it previously said that it would not “turn a blind eye” to questions of repression in Iran

In a statement, Open Stadiums said: “Iranian women trust neither the Islamic Republic’s authorities nor the Iranian Football Federation that the Azadi Stadium will remain open to them after the FIFA World Cup 2022 concludes.

“Why would FIFA give the Iranian state and its representatives a global stage while it not only refuses to respect basic human rights and dignities, but is currently torturing and killing its own people? Therefore, we ask FIFA, based on Articles 3 and 4 of its statutes, to immediately expel Iran from the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.”

In 2019, a 30-year-old woman named Sahar Khodayari was sentenced to prison for attempting to enter a football match dressed as a man. She later set herself on fire in protest and died, becoming a symbol of women’s lack of access to sport.

Although there is no specific request for withdrawal linked to it, Iran’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war had also attracted a negative response globally. Iranian IT experts were deployed to Crimea to help Russia operate drones to attack power plants and residential areas. These weapons have destroyed almost a third of the country’s power stations and killed at least four people.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said: “We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russian in these operations.

“Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground, and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. The US will pursue all means to expose, deter and confront Iran’s provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people.”

FIFA is yet to comment on the specific requests, although it previously said that it would not “turn a blind eye” to questions of repression in Iran.