Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Rubio denied that the government had asked the Iranian team not to come to the World Cup.
No one “from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio said of Iran’s World Cup participation, The Guardian Reported.
Rubio was responding to a reported proposal from Italy-born US special envoy Paolo Zampolli, who told the Financial Times he had floated the idea of Italy taking Iran’s World Cup place to US president Donald Trump and football’s world governing body FIFA. The proposal was dismissed out of hand by the Italian government and sports officials earlier on Thursday.
Rubio said the proposal did not reflect the US government’s position. “I don’t know where that’s coming from, other than speculation that Iran may decide not to come, and Italy would fill their spot,” Rubio said. “But that’s if they decide not to come on their own, it’s because they decided not to come.”
Zampolli told the FT on Wednesday it would be a “dream” to see Italy at the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada despite the fact they lost in a qualification playoff last month. However, Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi said on Thursday that a reinstatement of Italy “first, is not possible; second, is not appropriate, you qualify on the pitch”.
The Iranian embassy to Rome responded saying that the suggestion showed US “moral bankruptcy” and that Italy did not need “political privileges” to demonstrate its football greatness.