Iran has said “politics” motivated the decision by authorities of Canadian football to cancel a friendly match against Iran as both countries prepare for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 finals.
Kazem Gharibabadi, vice-president of Iran’s judiciary tweeted: “Canada´s decision to call off a friendly with Iran is testimony to the fact” that it “can´t keep politics off the pitch.”
Canada’s friendly match against Iran in Vancouver on June 5 was viewed by Canadian football authorities as important to preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup that will be held in Qatar later this year.
But the fixture brewed controversy, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opposing the match, describing it as a “bad idea”.
The families of passengers that died when Iranian armed forces shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 after it took off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, had condemned the fixture.
Eighty-five Canadian citizens and permanent residents were part of the 176 people that died in what the Iranian armed forces classified as a “mistake”.
After Canada decided to cancel the match, Iran’s “Team Melli” media officer Mohammad Jamaat told state television that Iran would “file a complaint to FIFA” against the decision.
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