FIFA head announces no changes to Iran's World Cup schedule as protestors demand team ban

President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Referee Committee Chairperson Pierluigi Collina pose with a referee shirt during the 76th FIFA Congress on April 30, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/JENNIFER GAUTHIER)

Protesters decry IRGC team

Iran's soccer team represents the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), not the people of Iran, and FIFA should ban the team from participating in the upcoming World Cup, protesters gathered outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver said on Thursday.

"This is not Iran, this is the Islamic Republic's team. This is IRGC's team," said Pouria Mahmoudi, an organizer with Mission for My Homeland, which brought together about 30 protesters draped in Iranian flags and holding signs supporting Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi.

"They're here not to represent Iran. They're here to normalize what's happening in Iran, the massacre in Iran. So, no, they should not be in the World Cup," he told Reuters.

Iranian regime crackdown on protestors

Anti-government protests in Iran in January were met with a brutal crackdown by the regime in which thousands died. Mahmoudi said the carnage outweighed the desire of the players on the team to compete at the tournament.

"How about those are killed, the Iranian footballers, who are killed also? FIFA shouldn't be quiet about them," he said.

"People should speak up about the athletes who have been killed, especially the footballers. Russia was banned from the World Cup... so we expect FIFA to do the same."

Iranian football federation officials, including president Mehdi Taj, ‌were due to attend the gathering in Vancouver but turned back at Toronto airport after what Tehran described as "unacceptable behavior" by Canadian immigration authorities, despite traveling with valid visas.

Canadian officials said entry decisions were made on a case-by-case basis and reiterated that individuals linked to the IRGC, which Ottawa designates as a terrorist organization, were inadmissible.

Taj is a former member of the IRGC.

"The moment we heard that he was coming to Canada, we tried our best to deport him, and we're happy that it happened," Mahmoudi said.

"This is really great success for us. It shows that Iranian people, when they're united, can do big things."