Iran escalates its anti-Israel campaign in global sports, urging FIFA to expel Israel after claiming attacks on Iranian athletes and sports facilities.
Tehran has launched a dramatic offensive on the global sports stage, calling for the expulsion of Israel from FIFA, the world’s top soccer authority. In an explosive letter to FIFA, Mehdi Taj, chairman of the Iranian Soccer Association, accused Israel of deliberately targeting Iranian athletes and facilities during its recent military operation.
Taj claimed that Israeli strikes hit Iran’s national training camp, bombed the association’s headquarters, and killed a referee—whom he referred to as a “martyr.” He further alleged that 30 Iranian soccer players were wounded, painting a picture of calculated sports-targeted aggression.
“Israel is murdering our commanders, children, and athletes in their sleep,” Taj declared, adding that the strikes occurred in densely populated residential zones.
Notably, Taj offered no evidence to support any of these claims.
But his message didn’t stop with Israel—he blasted the United States, co-host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, warning that Iranian players may be denied entry. “The US is unpredictable and hostile,” he wrote, hinting that Iran’s participation in 2026 could be in jeopardy.
🎯 A Pattern of Sports Warfare
This move is part of a larger Iranian campaign to isolate Israel in international athletics. Just last month, Iran’s Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to sanction Israel, citing “military crimes” and the alleged deaths of Iranian athletes.
Iran’s long-standing refusal to compete against Israelis has caused international uproar for over a decade:
- 🏋️♂️ In 2023, weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei was banned for life for shaking hands with an Israeli competitor in Poland.
- 🥋 In 2019, Iran was banned from international judo for four years after pressuring Saeid Mollaei to forfeit rather than face an Israeli.
- ⚽ In 2017, two Iranian footballers were banned (later reinstated) for playing against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- 🏅 And at the 2012 London Olympics, Iranian athletes threatened to boycott events featuring Israelis.
Despite an earlier agreement with the International Judo Federation to end sports boycotts against Israelis, Iran has continued to enforce them with brutal consistency.
Now, with its most recent FIFA appeal, Iran is testing the boundaries of global sports diplomacy, accusing Israel of “systematic violations” of international law and demanding that the Jewish state be booted from world soccer.
FIFA has yet to comment on the matter.
