Iran boycott World Cup draw after the U.S. refuses to issue visas to their delegation

Global football fans reacting to the situation:

“So refusing visas to Iran’s federation staff doesn’t count as government interference according to FIFA?”

↳ “Bro, it’s government interference 101. FIFA just pretends it isn’t whenever it helps them cozy up to Trump.
The U.S. went from ‘FIFA corruption watchdog’ to ‘full-on corruption enjoyer’ in like ten years. Incredible speedrun.”

↳ “FIFA drools over anyone who waves money at them. It’s basically a cultural tradition at this point.”

↳ “They literally invented a ‘Peace Prize’ for one very special little man. Peak comedy.”

↳ “Honestly he’s the only politician they’ve slobbered over who actually cares about a peace prize.”

↳ “Infantino’s just another corrupt clown.
Blatter would’ve moved the whole World Cup to England the moment he smelled corruption this obvious.”

↳ “The Blatter nostalgia is hilarious. Dude was corrupt as hell — he just wasn’t this blatant.”

↳ “Which matters, because not being blatant actually limits the evil you can pull off.”

↳ “Meanwhile, FIFA’s happily ignoring state violence against Americans the Trump admin doesn’t like.
My city’s literally getting tear-gassed block by block and FIFA’s like ‘What violence?’”

↳ “Today I feel… MAGA.”

↳ “Yeah, FIFA wasn’t corrupt under Blatter. Totally. /s”

↳ “And Trump doesn’t even pay FIFA a dime lol.”

↳ “FIFA only screams ‘government interference’ when a government messes with its own FA.
Anything else? They suddenly go deaf.”

↳ “Infantino’s so far up Trump’s ass he probably needs a map to get back out.”

“This is shaping up to be the worst World Cup ever.”

↳ “We can’t even guarantee players will get visas. Fans? Forget it.”

↳ “And even if they get visas, there’s a non-zero chance ICE detains them anyway. Absolute nightmare.”

↳ “Calling it now: half the squads get arrested by ICE, the U.S. wins by default.”

↳ “Trump doesn’t care about the U.S. winning.
He just wants to be on stage holding a medal.
Didn’t he straight-up steal Adarabioyo’s Club World Cup medal before?”

↳ “Please no. I can already see him wedging himself into the trophy ceremony like at the CWC.”

↳ “He’ll probably demand the real trophy stays with him while the champions get some cheap replica.”

↳ “The U.S. winning doesn’t matter — as long as a leader he likes wins and kisses his ass.
Argentina, the unofficial 51st state, is suddenly the favorite lol.”

“See you at the opening match!”

↳ “If we even get visas.
Even if I had French citizenship and money, they’d see my Arabic name and insta-deny it.
And if I somehow got in, ICE would probably deport me by halftime.”

“People complained about Qatar too.”

↳ “And the stadiums were empty.”

↳ “No they weren’t lol. redditors live in their own fantasy realm.”

↳ “On the pitch it was one of the best World Cups ever.
Most people didn’t care about the controversy once the whistle blew.”

↳ “Yeah, ignoring human rights abuses and literal slave labor so Infantino can dive into his money pit every night? Hard pass.”

↳ “People with zero empathy telling others to shut up so they can enjoy their entertainment in peace — classic.”

↳ “We can enjoy stuff and hate the awful parts.
I can eat a meal while being pissed about the hunger crisis in Palestine. Both can be true.”

↳ “That’s not the same as directly supporting abuse though.
If people boycotted World Cups with human rights issues, the problems wouldn’t keep happening.”

“Are we even gonna have a proper World Cup at this rate? lol”

↳ “For the actual tournament, host nations legally can’t deny entry to any team’s players or registered staff — for any reason.
When they win the bid, they agree to that explicitly.
If they break it, they lose hosting rights or their national team gets banned.
Indonesia literally lost the U-20 World Cup because they refused to let Israel’s team enter.”

↳ “So refusing visas for the draw delegation is allowed?”

↳ “Japan did the same to Maradona in 2002. In the end they let him in under some ‘government delegation’ excuse.”

“Even if Iran skips the draw, the groups will be decided anyway.”

“Imagine Iran getting drawn with the U.S. That would be hilarious.”

“Most likely they end up in the Mexico or Canada group anyway.”

↳ “Even if they’re placed in MEX/CAN’s path, Iran still plays at least one match in the U.S.”

↳ “Watch the U.S. suddenly shift all Iran matches to Mexico and Canada for ‘security reasons.’
If it’s Trump calling the shots, he’d absolutely do it.”

“My dream group:
USA
Iran
Some random country
Ukraine
Peak chaos.”

↳ “Last World Cup had England–USA–Iran–Wales.
If you consider Wales part of the UK, that was literally US+UK vs Iran.”

↳ “Good times.”

“Isn’t the draw mostly presenters anyway? Iran doesn’t need to be there for the balls to be picked.”

“They’re not drawing their own balls, sure — but negotiations for friendlies and prep matches start immediately after the draw.
Missing the event is a disadvantage for Iran.”

“The delegation for the draw isn’t the same as the official squad.
But if the U.S. ever tries to deny visas to the actual World Cup squad, FIFA would have to punish the U.S…
Though honestly, does anyone think FIFA would dare punish America?”

“Can’t believe this World Cup might be even messier than the last U.S.-hosted one.”

“What happens if the U.S. literally refuses to let Iranian players in during the tournament?”

↳ “People have been warning about that for years. Not even a joke.”

“If Iran gets sent to Mexico/Canada for the group stage, what if they advance?
Would the U.S. shift knockout games too?
At that point just host the damn draw in Mexico or Canada instead.”

“If the U.S. refuses visas to Iran’s players, then the U.S. shouldn’t be allowed to compete in the World Cup either.”

“The U.S. is being ridiculous. Host nations have to treat all teams equally.
Stop mixing politics with football.
Pretty sure this is Trump’s doing — he can pull strings with one phone call.”

“If the U.S. loses hosting rights AND gets kicked out, who replaces them?”

↳ “Costa Rica.”

↳ “No one. It’s too late.
FIFA could order forfeits though — 0–3 automatic losses for the U.S.”

“Embarrassing stuff from the U.S.
This is why some countries shouldn’t host major tournaments.”

“Technically, the draw isn’t ‘sporting competition,’ so that’s the loophole they’re using.
Which is dumb but predictable.”

“Is Iran even guaranteed to be allowed into the U.S. for the actual games?
Saying ‘they can play, just not on our soil’ makes no sense.”

↳ “For the tournament itself, hosts are obligated to allow entry.
If the U.S. refuses, they face severe penalties.
But with Trump around, Iran assumes they’ll be sent to Mexico/Canada anyway.”

“They’re probably gonna rig it so Iran ends up in Mexico’s Group A.
The U.S. will want Iran out ASAP, so expect some ‘coincidental’ draw luck.
Group A: Mexico, Iran, Norway, Italy.
You heard it here first.”

“If Iran gets removed last-minute, Iraq would take their place via the intercontinental playoff.
Norway would move up from Pot 3 to Pot 2 based on rankings.
Japan avoiding Norway in Pot 2 would be huge. (Japanese fan here.)”

“If more matches were in Mexico/Canada, isolating Iran would’ve been easier.”

“This whole situation is just awful.”

↳ “Depends who exactly got denied.
If it was intelligence-linked officials, the U.S. might have had its own reasons.”

“Still feels like petty political trolling.”