U.S. President Trump: Iran should skip World Cup 'for their safety'

[Eugene]

Source: ESPN

U.S. President Trump: Iran should skip World Cup 'for their safety'

ESPN News Services
Mar 12, 2026, 11:39 AM ET

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Iran national soccer team is "welcome" to compete at the FIFA World Cup in the United States, but advised the team not to participate for "their own life and safety."

Trump wrote on the social media site Truth Social: "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Later on Thursday, the Iranian team responded on social media to Trump's post saying that no individual could exclude a country from the World Cup and suggested the U.S. was unable to provide the necessary security for teams participating in the tournament this summer.

"The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA -- not any individual country. Iran's national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament," the statement said.

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Read more: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48184550/us-president-trump-iran-skip-world-cup-safety

[Eugene]

1. Iran to FIFA: Kick US out of World Cup, not us

Source: Politico

Iran to FIFA: Kick US out of World Cup, not us

“Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup,” federation tells football chief Gianni Infantino.

March 13, 2026 3:28 pm CET
By Ferdinand Knapp

FIFA is caught between Iran and a hard place.

Tehran’s football federation has urged the world governing body to eject the U.S. from the 2026 World Cup, while America hammers Iran with missile strikes.

The U.S. is co-hosting the premier football tournament this summer along with Canada and Mexico, and the U.S.-Israeli strikes that decapitated Tehran’s leadership have thrown Iran’s participation into doubt.

Trump this week suggested it was not “appropriate” for the Iranian team to attend for their “own life and safety,” not long after FIFA President Gianni Infantino assured people that Trump had said it was “welcome to compete in the tournament.”

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Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/iran-football-fifa-infantino-kick-united-states-out-world-cup-not-us/

[RockRaven]

2. FIFA will once again show the world what corrupt little worms they are by doing

nothing of substance about these tacit threats made by the head of state of a host nation.