Stories say Sardar Azmoun, who performs for UAE membership Shabab Al-Ahli, was expelled for Instagram submit with Dubai’s ruler.
Revealed On 20 Mar 2026
Sardar Azmoun, one in every of Iran’s prime soccer gamers, has been expelled from the nationwide group for a perceived act of disloyalty to the federal government, Iranian media has reported, making it unlikely he’ll play any half within the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Iran’s participation within the international soccer showpiece is underneath a cloud due to the continued battle with the USA, who’re co-hosting the June 11-July 19 event with Mexico and Canada.
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If Staff Melli do flip up for his or her opening-round group matches, they are going to undoubtedly be weakened by the absence of striker Azmoun, who has scored 57 targets in 91 internationals since making his debut as an adolescent in 2014.
Azmoun, who performs his membership soccer within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Dubai membership Shabab Al-Ahli, upset the Iranian authorities this week by posting an image on his Instagram feed of a gathering with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Iran has launched rocket and drone assaults on the UAE following air strikes by the US and Israel, which killed the nation’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A report on the Fars Information Company, which has hyperlinks to the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cited “an knowledgeable supply throughout the nationwide group” as saying Azmoun had been expelled from the squad.
Photos eliminated
Azmoun later eliminated the photographs however was nonetheless lambasted on state TV on Thursday, with soccer pundit Mohammad Misaghi saying the striker’s actions had been an act of disloyalty.
“It’s unlucky that you just don’t have sufficient sense to grasp what sort of behaviour is suitable at a given time,” Misaghi mentioned.
“We must always not mince phrases with such individuals. They need to be instructed that they aren’t worthy of carrying the nationwide group jersey.
“We have now no persistence for this sulking and infantile behaviour. Nationwide group gamers must be individuals who proudly belt out the nationwide anthem and need to put on the Iran jersey.”
There was no fast response to a request for touch upon the matter from the Soccer Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI).
Azmoun, 31, is likely one of the best-known footballers in Iran, the place the sport is a nationwide obsession.
He has performed his complete membership profession overseas with stints at Zenit Saint Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Roma, in addition to that includes for Iran within the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.
An unsourced report on the Novad Information channel mentioned on Thursday that an order had been issued for the seizure of the property of Azmoun, one other UAE-based nationwide group ahead Mehdi Ghayedi, and former worldwide Soroush Rafiei.
Misaghi was talking in opposition to the backdrop of images of a ceremony welcoming the Iranian ladies’s nationwide group again to Tehran on their return from Australia.
Seven of the delegation accepted asylum in Australia after the group was branded “wartime traitors” on Iranian state TV for not singing the nationwide anthem earlier than a Girls’s Asian Cup match. 5 later determined to return to Iran.
Iran’s males are scheduled to play pleasant internationals in Antalya, Turkiye, in opposition to Nigeria on March 27 and Costa Rica 4 days later as a part of their World Cup preparations.
