Paris (France) (AFP) – An envoy to US President Donald Trump has asked world football’s governing body FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the World Cup, according to the Financial Times. US special envoy Paolo Zampolli told the FT on Wednesday it would be a “dream” to see four-time World Cup winners Italy at the finals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, despite the fact they lost in a qualification playoff last month.
The Iranian embassy to Rome responded, saying that the suggestion showed US “moral bankruptcy” and that Italy did not need “political privileges” to demonstrate its football greatness. The idea was an effort to repair ties between Trump and Giorgia Meloni after the Italian prime minister fell out with the president after criticizing his attack on Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war, the FT reported.
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“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and (FIFA President Gianni) Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,” Zampolli said.
Italy has won the World Cup four times but missed out on the tournament for a third successive time after losing a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their qualifying playoff final. The Iranian embassy stated on X, “Italy has earned its greatness in football on the pitch, not thanks to political privileges.” They added, “The attempt to exclude Iran from the World Cup only reveals the ‘moral bankruptcy’ of the United States, which is afraid even of the presence of eleven young Iranians on the field of play.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been thrown into doubt by the war with the US and Israel that broke out on February 28. The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) had said in April it was “negotiating” with FIFA to relocate the country’s World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico. But Infantino told AFP last month, while attending Iran’s friendly against Costa Rica in Turkey, that Iran will be at the World Cup and that they will play “where they are supposed to be, according to the draw.” The FIFA chief reiterated that stance in Washington last week.
When contacted by AFP about Zampolli’s suggestion on Thursday, FIFA referred to Infantino’s recent comments. In 2022, Zampolli made a similar suggestion, proposing that Italy should replace Iran at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because of the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on protesters at that time. His proposal fell on deaf ears. Zampolli is an Italian-American socialite and businessman who founded a modeling agency and claims to have introduced Trump to his current wife, Melania Trump.
© 2024 AFP
