"This is not Iran, this is the Islamic Republic's team. This is IRGC's team." That was the message delivered outside FIFA's Congress in Vancouver on Thursday by around 30 protesters, and it's a message FIFA isn't going to find easy to ignore — even if it wants to.
The demonstration was organised by Mission for My Homeland, a group backing Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi. Their demand was straightforward: ban Iran from the 2026 World Cup, the same way Russia was excluded after its invasion of Ukraine. Organiser Pouria Mahmoudi made the comparison himself. "Russia was banned from the World Cup... so we expect FIFA to do the same."
The political heat around Iran's participation is already at boiling point
Iran have qualified for the June 11–July 19 tournament, but their path to it has been anything but smooth. Tehran has asked for its matches on U.S. soil to be moved to alternative venues, citing the country's ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Thursday he still expects Iran to play in the U.S. Donald Trump, asked about it later the same day, said he agreed with Infantino.
That's an awkward alliance — the world football body and the U.S. president aligned on keeping a team in the tournament while protesters stand outside demanding the opposite. Iran's World Cup odds may not have shifted in the bookmakers' systems, but the political environment around any bet on this team is deeply unstable.
Then there was the episode at Toronto airport. Iran's football federation president Mehdi Taj — a former IRGC member — turned back before reaching Vancouver after Canadian immigration authorities refused him entry. Canada designates the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and individuals linked to it are inadmissible. Mahmoudi wasn't subtle about his reaction: "The moment we heard that he was coming to Canada, we tried our best to deport him, and we're happy that it happened."
The question FIFA keeps not answering
Behind the political noise is a genuine human one. Anti-government protests in Iran in January were crushed with a violence that left thousands dead. Mahmoudi pointed out that footballers were among those killed. "FIFA shouldn't be quiet about them," he said. "People should speak up about the athletes who have been killed, especially the footballers."
FIFA's position, for now, is to say nothing meaningful. Infantino's line is that sport and politics should stay separate — a principle FIFA applies selectively, as Russia's ban made plain. Whether that inconsistency catches up with them before June 11 is the real question hanging over Iran's participation.
The Iranian football federation president couldn't even get into Canada. Their federation head is a former member of an organisation designated as terrorist by the host nation's northern neighbour. And thousands of people died in a state crackdown six months before the tournament begins.
FIFA says it expects Iran to play. That doesn't mean any of this goes away.
