FIFA should bar Iran from 2022 World Cup over its ban on female spectators

Published March 30, 2022 8:21pm ET



The Islamic Republic of Iran has had enough chances. It must be stripped of its right to attend soccer’s 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Blatantly rejecting FIFA requirements to the contrary, Iran blocked ticket-holding female supporters from attending its World Cup qualifying match against Lebanon on Tuesday. Iran won that game 2-0, thus securing a spot in the World Cup in November. But the scenes in Tehran testify to the intrinsic immorality of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime. As many as 2,000 female ticket holders attempting to access the stadium instead found themselves tear-gassed. In a telling act of utter mathematical incontinence, the Iranian football authority claimed that only nine, rather than 2,000, women had tickets for the game.

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