We are living through a difficult year, because of the war in Ukraine and the effects of post-Covid troubles in the global economies. In Iran, the death of Masha Amini sparked a reaction in people, with protests and riots against the government. This situation led to nervousness within the National Football Team of Iran. Azmoun, an international star of Iranian sport, decided to stand with people against the government, asking for the exclusion of Iran from the next World Cup in Qatar. The world-renowned sports event will start in November, so this situation is quite difficult for the principal federations.
Furthermore, there are many requests for the disqualification of Iran. In Italy, Paolo Zampolli, a member of The Kennedy Center, wrote a letter to Fifa's President Gianni Infantino. He asked for intervention after the recent episodes in Iran, considering the risks to the reputation of this World Cup.
Zampolli also said: "There is a lot of concern. As you know, on September 22 the Ohchr, the high commissioner of the UN for human rights, underlined the violence used by security forces in Iran." The Italian entrepreneur asked for an exclusion of Iran from Qatar 2022 and a repechage of Italy, which did not qualify by losing against North Macedonia in March 2022.
There has not been an official response by Infantino, but few people describe as possible the scenario requested in the letter of Zampolli. The new Italian Sports Minister, Andrea Abodi, spoke about the possibility of seeing Italy in Qatar in 2022. Abodi said that qualification groups are divided between continents, so if Iran is excluded, Italy cannot be considered anyway.
In the meanwhile, protests in Iran continue. Recently, the football star Ali Daei was arrested for having defied the government. This is a delicate situation, that will probably have effects on the political image of the next World Cup.
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