Iranian Federation Attacks Trump's Statements on Women's Team

The Iranian Football Federation condemned the statements made by Donald Trump regarding the Iranian women's national team, considering them a "blatant political interference" in sports affairs, and exceeding the red lines set by international bodies to regulate the relationship between politics and sports.

In its statement, the federation called on international football-related bodies, led by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), to intervene immediately to address what it described as this behavior, emphasizing the need to maintain a stable sports environment 94 days before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The statement emphasized that the players of the Iranian national team take pride in their national identity, noting that they expressed this by singing the national anthem and performing the military salute in support of the fighters of the Islamic Republic, in a message that confirms the team's connection to their country.

The federation described Trump's statements as "illegal and legally meaningless," calling on the international sports community to take a decisive stance against what it considered an attempt to politicize football and influence the stability of global competitions.

Trump had called on Australian authorities not to return the Iranian women's national team players to their country, considering that their return could constitute a "grave humanitarian mistake," and affirmed the United States' readiness to consider granting them political asylum if they needed protection.