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MCCAIN INTRODUCES RESOLUTION CALLING ON FIFA TO BAN IRAN FROM SOCCER WORLD CUP
April 6, 2006
Washington D.C. – Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today introduced legislation urging FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, to ban Iran from sanctioned international competition – including the 2006 World Cup. “The national team is scheduled to play its first match in Nuremberg, Germany,” McCain said. “There is a cynical historical irony to this, in light of President Ahmadinejad’s vile statements denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel’s eradication.”
Denying the Holocaust is a crime in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Nuremberg served as the site of war crimes tribunals that tried Nazi leaders for atrocities and genocide. The resolution calls on FIFA to block Iran’s participation in sanctioned matches until its government rescinds its position disavowing the Holocaust, repudiates its calls for the eradication of Israel, ends its support for terrorism, and ceases its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Six senators joined Senator McCain as original cosponsors.
“Iran is a soccer-mad country,” said McCain, “and I hope this resolution will spark serious discussion there about whether the regime’s rhetoric and policy serve the interests of its people.”
Restrictions on international sporting competition have brought attention and pressure to previous regimes. South Africa was barred from international competition by both FIFA and the International Olympic Committee until the repeal of its apartheid laws in 1991. In 1992 Yugoslavia was banned from participation in Europe’s popular UEFA Cup soccer championships and later prevented from participating in World Cup qualifying matches. Article 3 of FIFA’s regulations threatens suspension or expulsion as punishment for discrimination against a country or group of people.
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