Ex-FIFA boss says Iran should be barred from Qatar

2 years ago 44

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter thinks Iran should beryllium barred from the upcoming World Cup successful Qatar, a Swiss insubstantial and online quality website quoted him arsenic saying Friday.

The comments travel amid nationwide protests that person gripped Iran for weeks, pursuing the decease of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini portion successful custody of the morality police.

Swiss outlet 'Blick' showed a video of the erstwhile FIFA president astatine a speech astatine its publisher's office connected Thursday.

Blatter was asked by a reporter: "If you were inactive FIFA president contiguous would you fto Iran -- which is presently sidesplitting young women successful the streets, which is sending weapons to Russia to onslaught Ukraine -- play successful the World Cup?"

"No," Blatter responded, adding that helium believes the existent FIFA president Gianni Infantino lacks courageousness to instrumentality a wide stance connected Iran.

"He's already having occupation creating a money unneurotic with the Qataris -- for each the workers who died successful the operation of the infrastructure.

"I deliberation it should beryllium done by idiosyncratic from FIFA who has courage. But Infantino doesn't adjacent person the courageousness to springiness journalists an answer."

FIFA did not instantly respond to CNN's petition for remark connected Blatter's proposition that Iran should beryllium barred from the 2022 World Cup and his views connected Infantino.

Blatter's comments travel weeks aft a instrumentality steadfast sent a missive to FIFA connected behalf of a radical of erstwhile and existent Iranian sports figures urging soccer's governing assemblage to suspend the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) and prohibition it from participating astatine this year's World Cup successful Qatar.

The missive says the actions of Iran's shot federation interruption FIFA statues and regulations.

"Iran's brutality and belligerence towards its ain radical has reached a tipping point, demanding an unequivocal and steadfast disassociation from the footballing and sports world," a property merchandise issued alongside the missive reads.

Other athletes successful Iran person joined successful the protests.

After scoring a extremity successful the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup final, Saeed Piramoon imitated cutting his hairsbreadth -- a determination signaling enactment for nationwide protests successful the state by calling for greater freedoms for women -- an enactment that Iran's shot authorities person vowed to woody with.

Meanwhile, shot subordinate Sardar Azmoun risks missing retired connected being selected for the World Cup aft criticizing the government.

"That is worthy sacrificing for 1 strand of Iranian women's hair," Azmoun wrote successful an Instagram story. "Shame connected you who termination radical truthful easily. Long unrecorded Iranian women."

Blatter's comments are not the lone critiques that the 86-year-old has had astir the enactment helium utilized to beryllium successful complaint of.

Earlier this week helium told Swiss paper Tages Anzeiger that "Qatar is simply a mistake," adding that "the prime was bad."

"It is excessively tiny of a country. Football and the World Cup are excessively large for it," Blatter said of Qatar, the archetypal state successful the Middle East to big the tournament.

"Since then, societal considerations and quality rights are taken into account," helium added.

The World Cup starts connected November 20 with Iran starting its run against England connected November 21.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!