“Canada’s decision to call off a friendly with Iran is testimony to the fact” that it “can’t keep politics off the pitch“, says a tweet posted by Kazem Gharibabadi, Iranian government’s deputy for international affairs and human rights, in reaction to the sudden cancellation of the friendly match his National Team was to hold against Canada in Vancouver on June 5.
The fact that the preparatory match for the two National Teams, both qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, was halted came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was heard saying that Canada hosting Iran for a soccer match was a “bad idea”.
It seems that the ball has already left the soccer field and fallen into the political arena, since in addition to the obvious Iranian dissatisfaction with the sudden cancellation of the friendly match, without a detailed explanation, at least not in the official statement made by the Canadian Soccer Association, it would escalate to a legal issue.
The million-dollar financial consequence of Canada’s cancellation of its match against Iran
Once the sports issue has been put aside by political junctures, anything can happen, such as when the voices that take sides to complain or request compensation for damages escalate to government structures. Thus, there was a formal complaint and a kind of warning from the Deputy Minister of Culture and Public Sports of Iran, Sina Kalhor.
“According to the contract, the Iranian Football Federation will pursue a $10 million compensation claim for the unilateral cancellation of the game through legal channels,” published Kalhor on Twitter, where he also stated that the cancelation of the friendly match between his National Team and Canada “once again showed that the slogan of non-political sport is a cover for the interests of Western countries.”.
Canada returns to a FIFA World Cup after having played in only one previous edition, Mexico 1986, where it failed to score a single goal in the 3 matches it played. It is placed in group F, where it will have to deal with Belgium, Morocco and the runner-up in Russia 2018, Croatia.
On the other hand, Iran will be playing its third consecutive World Cup in Qatar 2022. Never before, in any of the 5 editions in which it has participated, has it managed to advance from the Group stage. It shares Group B of the tournament with England, the USMNT and the National Team that wins the last European ticket: Ukraine, Scotland or Wales.
