Ukraine has urged FIFA, the world’s football governing body, to bar Iran from competing in the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
This comes after the Ukrainian FA filed a formal complaint with FIFA, accusing Iran of supplying weapons to Russia to aid in their invasion.
Aside from being accused of supplying weapons, they have also been accused of violating articles 3 and 4 of FIFA’s human rights and discrimination statutes.
Iran is in the same group as England, Wales, and the United States. Removing them from the tournament at this late stage could result in a costly and messy legal battle.
The Ukrainian FA’s executive committee issued the following statement:
“Taking into account the media information about the systematic manifestations of human rights violations in Iran which could violate the principles and norms of the FIFA charter; and taking into account the UN security council resolution 22.31 regarding the imposition of sanctions on Iran, and the alleged involvement of Iran in the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, we appeal to FIFA with a proposal to consider excluding the Iranian national team from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.