Iran Bans Sports Teams From Attending Games In ‘Hostile’ Countries
aPhoto of the building of the Iranian Ministry of Sports and Youth Credit: The Iranian Ministry of Sports and Youth website Iran on Thursday announced a ban on sending sports teams to events in countries considered “hostile”, ahead of a scheduled game between an Iranian and an Emirati club in Saudi Arabia. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569656851-0"); }); It comes nearly a month after US-Israeli attacks on Iran sparked the Middle East war on February 28. The Iranian Ministry of Sports and Youth announced that “the presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice”, according to a statement carried by the ISNA news agency. It cited “the publication of some news about the confrontation of the Tractor team against a team from the Emirates in Saudi Arabia” in the AFC Champions League as the reason behind the ban. READ ALSO: Oil Rises, Stocks Mixed As Joy Over Trump Iran Strike Pause Fades Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569913499-0"); }); “The Football Federation and clubs will be obliged to notify the Asian Football Confederation of this matter in order to relocate the games,” it added. The move comes months before the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in June. Iran have qualified for the tournament, and their matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt were scheduled to be played in the United States. In a high-profile incident this month, six players and a staff member of the Iranian women’s football team had sought asylum in Australia after refusing to sing the national anthem during the Asian Cup. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672587799169-0"); }); This has prompted Tehran to brand them “traitors”. Five later reversed their decision and returned to Iran, while two remain in Australia. Join Our Whatsapp Channel To join: Simply click on the link below & turn on notifications to get the latest updates Subscribe to Our Newsletter In This Article: Iran More Stories Moses, Adams Score As Nigeria’s Super Eagles Defeat Iran In Friendly Tie Iran Warns Civilians As Trump Says Talks ‘Going Well’ Ukraine, Saudi Signed Air Defence Deal–Senior Officials /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * / var disqus_shortname = 'channelstelevision'; // Required - Replace example with your forum shortname / * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */ (function() { var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = '//' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); })(); Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.