Mehdi Taj, President of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, spoke on Iranian public television, saying that it would be difficult to expect the World Cup to take place this summer following recent conflicts involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
After the clashes, multiple media outlets have analyzed how the slot would be allocated if Iran were unable to participate in the World Cup.
It is unclear how greatly recent events will affect Iran’s participation in the World Cup, but rules are in place should Iran withdraw or be banned from the tournament.
The FIFA rulebook states that in such cases, the relevant team shall be replaced by “an appointed replacement team, typically the immediate loser of the relevant play-off match or the highest-ranked non-qualified team in the confederation”.
“If a replacement is not possible (due to timing, visas, travel), the group place shall be awarded to a substitute team with the match schedule remaining unchanged; or the group structure may be adjusted under exceptional circumstances.”
Under this scenario, the United Arab Emirates could benefit from the World Cup situation. The UAE are the highest-ranked non-qualified team from Asia in World Cup qualification.
The UAE faced Iraq in the fifth stage of Asian World Cup qualification, losing 3-2 on aggregate over two legs. Iraq advanced to an intercontinental play-off final on 31 March, where they will face either Bolivia or Suriname.
An alternative solution would be for Iraq to take the automatic World Cup spot in Group G where Iran was placed, with the UAE taking Iraq’s place in the intercontinental play-off.
