In what could become one of the biggest scandals to rock the football world, a senior envoy to US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the 2026 World Cup, despite Iran having already qualified and publicly stating that it is ready to participate. The proposal, first reported by the Financial Times, has raised serious questions about political interference in world football and FIFA’s willingness to entertain geopolitical lobbying. FIFA is already under scrutiny and faces allegations of corruption over its relationship with Trump after its president, Gianni Infantino, awarded the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” in December to the US president. The move was widely viewed as an attempt to curry favour with the […]

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