Amid Italy Talks, USA Claims Iran Footballers Welcome At FIFA World Cup

Last Updated:April 24, 2026, 11:38 IST

No-one "from the US has told them they can't come," Marco Rubio says of Iran's World Cup participation.

Marco Rubio has said that the Iranian footballers will be allowed to take part in this year’s FIFA World Cup 2026 as he distanced the U.S. government from a reported idea suggesting that Italy could replace Iran in the tournament.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Rubio rejected claims that Washington had asked Iran to stay away from the competition, while warning that the United States could still deny entry to members of the Iranian delegation suspected of links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is designated a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and several other governments.

No-one “from the US has told them they can’t come," Rubio said of Iran’s World Cup participation.

“The problem with Iran, it would be not their athletes, it would be some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves," Rubio added.

Rubio was responding to a reported proposal from Italy-born U.S. special envoy Paolo Zampolli, who told the Financial Times he had floated the idea of Italy taking Iran’s World Cup place to U.S. President Donald Trump and football’s governing body, FIFA.

The proposal was rejected outright earlier Thursday by the Italian government and sports authorities.

Rubio said the idea did not represent the position of the U.S. government.

“I don’t know where that’s coming from, other than speculation that Iran may decide not to come, and Italy would fill their spot," Rubio said. “But that’s if they decide not to come on their own, it’s because they decided not to come."

Zampolli told the Financial Times on Wednesday it would be a “dream" to see Italy at the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, despite the team missing out after losing a qualification playoff last month.

However, Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi said on Thursday that reinstating Italy was “first, is not possible; second, is not appropriate, you qualify on the pitch", according to Italian news agencies ANSA and AGI.

That position was echoed by the head of Italy’s Olympic committee, Luciano Buonfiglio.

“I would feel offended. You have to earn your place in the World Cup," he said.

The Iranian embassy in Rome responded by saying the suggestion reflected U.S. “moral bankruptcy" and that Italy did not require “political privileges" to prove its footballing strength.

Italy has won the World Cup four times but has missed the last three editions after losing a qualifying playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Iran’s participation has also been complicated by tensions following the conflict involving the United States and Israel that began on February 28.

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) had said in April it was “negotiating" with FIFA over relocating its World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico.

However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last month that Iran will take part in the tournament and will play “where they are supposed to be, according to the draw".

He reiterated that position during a visit to Washington last week.

When asked about Zampolli’s proposal on Thursday, FIFA referred back to Infantino’s earlier remarks.

In 2022, Zampolli had made a similar suggestion that Italy replace Iran at the Qatar World Cup, citing Iran’s crackdown on protests at the time. That proposal was not taken up.

Zampolli is an Italian-American socialite, businessman, and founder of a modelling agency, who has claimed to have introduced Trump to his current wife Melania Trump.

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