Iran will “boycott the United States” but “not the World Cup”, the president of Iran’s football federation Mehdi Taj said in a video released by Iran’s Fars news agency.
Iran is currently scheduled to play its group matches in the United States in this year’s tournament.
“We will be preparing for the World Cup. We will boycott the US but not the World Cup,” Taj said in a video released on Wednesday.
Iran’s football federation, FFIRI, has said that it has started talks with Fifa about the possibility of moving their matches from the United States, although the international federation has so far maintained that the schedule of the championship has not yet changed.
Iran’s participation in this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the war began last month, with President Donald Trump warning that the safety of Iranian players will be at risk if they travel to the United States.
