The Islamic Republic of Iran has called on FIFA to kick the United States of America out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The complaints come after the United States Soccer Federation made posts on social media with edits to Iran’s flag.
“In an unprofessional act, the Instagram page of the US football federation removed the Allah symbol from the Iranian flag,” state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
“The Iran Football Federation sent an email to FIFA to demand it issue a serious warning to the US federation,” it added.
The US explained that it had decided to forgo the official flag on social media accounts to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights”.
The allegation was reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which attributed it as coming from a legal adviser at the Iranian football federation.
“According to section 13 of Fifa rules, any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure,” it said.
The United Nations says more than 300 people have been killed amid a crackdown on the protests which erupted in the wake of Amini’s death in September, and some 14,000 have been arrested, including children. Iran has accused the US and other foreign states of fomenting the demonstrations, without providing evidence.
Fifa has refused to comment, but a number of well-placed sources have suggested that the prospect of a US ban is highly unlikely.
