Trending

Iran Says it Can’t Participate in the World Cup

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 11th, 2026 · 12:06 PM EDT

---

Quick aside for a World Cup story:

BREAKING: Iran's sports minister said Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after the US killed their leader. 'Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup' https://t.co/eMf8m46e8e pic.twitter.com/UbZvLDhabj

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 11, 2026

Couple of thoughts here –

First, Iran is set to play two games in LA and one in Seattle. There is a HUGE Persian expat population in Los Angeles. It’s actually the largest population of Iranians living outside of Iran. They even did that Bravo show out there back in the day, the Shahs of Sunset, with the one gay Persian guy who was hilarious. Reza Farahan is his name. I had to Google it to be sure.

So Iran playing in Southern California would have been super interesting. You’ve got a big local fan base that is largely anti-regime. What kind of scenes would we get pre-game? What kind of flags, banners, and political messages? Would the players sing the anthem or not? We just saw the women’s team refuse to do so in Australia and it resulted in a lot of news coverage, asking whether or not they’d seek asylum or be forced back to Iran and likely punished.

NBC reported on Wednesday that a half-dozen of the women stayed in Australia while the rest went home.

Second, defections. We’ve seen this with Cuban baseball and soccer players, like Jose Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, Ozzie Alonso, etc. The regime has to be thinking about this, the threat of these guys escaping their handlers and trying to stay over here.

Third, player and handler treatment. The soccer team itself would be treated perfectly fine – full security, heightened awareness, all of that. It’s the handlers and assorted government flunkies who would be the problem. What if the regime tries to sneak a rat or two into the country with a fake defection? It just seems risky on both sides. You’d need eyeballs everywhere, at all times.

Iran is set to play Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand in Group G. To replace them, you’d probably look to the next-best team from Asia, which would be Iraq, and they’re in the playoff that also includes Bolivia and Suriname. You could give Iraq Iran’s spot, put UAE in the playoff instead, and go from there. That’s one option. Or just give Iraq the spot and let Bolivia and Suriname duke it out in a one-game play-in.