advance to the World Cup finals → Ace 'shock' expelled from the national team "How dare the prime minister of the enemy country..." Iranian soccer again. "The greatest scandal ever."

*This content was translated by AI.

A shocking incident occurred in which the ace was expelled from the national team for disloyalty to the Iranian government. Sardar Azmun (31, Shabaab al-Ahli), a symbol of Iranian soccer and a key striker, is virtually uncertain to participate in the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup.

Citing Iranian media, Middle East media Al Jazeera reported on the 20th (Korea time) that "Iranian authorities expelled Azmoun from the national team," adding, "So it will be difficult to see Azmoun play on the World Cup stage."

This is the aftermath of a single photo posted on personal social networking services (SNS). Azmoun is currently playing for Shabaab al-Ahli, a club in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and recently posted a photo on social media of his meeting with UAE Prime Minister Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The problem is the current situation in Iran. Iran has been in intense conflict since the recent death of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, launching rocket and drone attacks on the UAE, an ally of the U.S. and Israel. His friendly appearance with the ruler of a hostile state at a sensitive time drew the ire of Iranian authorities.

The Fars news agency, which is linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced the exit of Azmun, citing internal sources of the national team.

According to Al Jazeera, Azmun immediately deleted the photo as the controversy grew, but the criticism did not fade. Mohammad Misagi, a soccer commentator for Iran's state broadcaster, blasted, "It's unfortunate that you don't understand what the right thing to do is," adding, "You have to be firm with those who don't deserve to wear national uniforms."

Azmoun is Iran's irreplaceable main gun, having scored 57 goals in 91 A matches since his debut in 2014. He is also a star who has built a world-class reputation through prestigious European clubs such as Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), and AS Roma (Italy).

The situation is getting worse. According to local reports, authorities have even ordered the seizure of assets such as Azmun, Mehdi Gayedi, who plays in the UAE, and former national team member Sorosh Raphia.

Recently, Iran's sports community has experienced unprecedented chaos. Earlier, Iranian women's national soccer team players were branded war traitors for refusing to sing the national anthem before the Asian Cup, and seven of them applied for asylum in Australia.

Iran, ahead of friendly matches with Nigeria and Costa Rica to prepare for the World Cup finals, is on alert to advance to the finals amid the unprecedented departure of its ace.

In addition, Iran is in the same group with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G of this World Cup, and coincidentally, all three games will be played in the United States.

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*This content was translated by AI.