"Korea is also affected."' Iran's possible 'additional disciplinary action' for FIFA if it misses World Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

With the U.S. and Israel's airstrikes making the Iranian national soccer team's participation in the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup unclear, it is predicted that if the Iranian Football Association decides not to participate in the World Cup, it could face "additional disciplinary action" from FIFA.

"If Iran unilaterally misses the World Cup, FIFA could take disciplinary measures, including a ban on participating in future tournaments," the British daily Guardian said on the 10th (Korea Standard Time), adding, "FIFA is sticking to its plan to participate in this World Cup as scheduled."

According to reports, teams that have passed the qualifying round cannot unilaterally withdraw their participation in the World Cup due to FIFA regulations. In fact, there was no case of not participating in the World Cup last time in the 1950 tournament, when France and India declared their absence from the World Cup after the draw.

The Guardian said, "FIFA has a protective device (in case of non-participation) in the tournament regulations. According to the regulations, if the tournament is withdrawn before the opening, a fine of 275,000 euros (about 470 million won) to 555,000 euros (about 950 million won) will be imposed depending on the time of withdrawal, and it will be referred to the FIFA disciplinary committee for sanctions, he said. "All funds, including tournament-related subsidies, should also be returned to FIFA."

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose additional disciplinary measures on football associations in each country in consideration of the timing, reason, and seriousness of violations. Disciplinary actions may include disqualification of the association from future FIFA tournaments or alternative participation by other national soccer teams, he added.

If Iran's absence from the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup is confirmed and FIFA imposes additional disciplinary measures such as a ban on participating in the next tournament, it will also affect the Asian soccer community, including the Korean national soccer team. The next World Cup will be held in 2030, four years later in Morocco, Portugal and Spain, because Iran cannot participate in the Asian qualifying process to advance to the World Cup finals.

In fact, Iran, which is classified as the strongest team in Asia, has threatened South Korea and Japan in every World Cup qualifying round. It is the team that passed Group A in the final (third) qualifying round for the 2026 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia, and beat South Korea to rank No. 1 in Group A in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup. Such a situation in which Iran may not be able to play in the next World Cup qualifying round could serve as an important variable in the 2030 World Cup Asian qualifying round.

An upheaval in the FIFA rankings is also expected depending on whether Iran will participate in the World Cup or not. The World Cup places more weight on FIFA ranking points than any other game. In Asia, Japan and Iran are ranked 19th and 20th, respectively, and South Korea is closely trailing 22nd, and Asia's No. 2 position may change if Iran misses the World Cup and South Korea builds ranking points at the World Cup. The upheaval in the rankings will continue depending on whether Iran succeeds in the A match after the World Cup as well as the World Cup.

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*This content was translated by AI.