Canada's national men's soccer team has pulled out of a "friendly" match with Iran that was scheduled for June 5.
Now Iran is going to sue for $10M.
The pressure to cancel came from the Canadian government and the families of a passenger flight downed over Tehran in January 2020 which killed everyone on board. The plane carrying 176 people was struck by a missile from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which they claim to have been due to "human error".
The Canadian government said 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people who were killed.
Canada Soccer, the group that had organized the World Cup warm-up match who now has to pay the cost of the sold-out tickets, said the game was cancelled because "the untenable geopolitical situation of hosting Iran [had become] significantly divisive".
It was a friendly soccer match that turned into a political dispute.
Politics are always a great way to ruin a great sport!
Canada Soccer had said it chose Iran for a warm-up match because the team had a similar playing style to Morocco, one of Canada's opponents in the Qatar tournament.
"While we considered the external factors in selecting the optimal opponent in our original decision-making process, we will strive to do better moving forward," it said in a statement.
Punishing Canadian and Iranian soccer players may have long-term effects... plus, that hefty $10 million lawsuit!
From Press TV:
The match cancellation came nine days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized Canada Soccer for their decision to invite Iran. Tehran says this further reveals how the Canada's sport is influenced by political decisions.
Tehran has now warned of legal consequences. Iranian sports authorities say they are arranging their complaint to FIFA to seek psychological damages. Iran says it will move forward with its lawsuit against Canada's Soccer Association to question its bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. So it seems Canada's costly decision is unfolding into many consequences.
"Psychological damages" vs. 176 deaths in a missile strike...
Not sure if I follow that logic but I am a strong believer in leaving politics out of sports!
"The unilateral cancellation of Iran and Canada's match by Canada Soccer once more showed that the slogan of not politicizing football is only a cover for the interests of Western countries," Sina Kalhor, a deputy Iranian sports minister tweeted.
My main question is, how does cancelling a soccer match help the families of the victims in that 2020 missile strike?
Is it worth politicizing sports?
Why not, instead, play against them and kick their butts?
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