Washington Rep. Supports Iran Playing World Cup in Seattle

A U.S. congressman hailing from Washington state said he wants the World Cup schedule to go ahead as planned: with Iran playing in Seattle.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D., Wash.), co-chair of the congressional soccer caucus, told Front Office Sports that he supports Iran playing World Cup matches on U.S. soil.

The team’s status in the tournament has been in limbo since the U.S. and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, to which the country retaliated with counterattacks on several World Cup participants including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan.

“I support the current makeup of the current draw,” Larsen said in an interview on Wednesday.

Iran, FIFA, and President Donald Trump have delivered mixed sentiments on the team’s position in the tournament. FIFA has publicly said it wants to go forward with “everybody participating,” and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last week that Trump told him Iran is welcome to play. But Trump then said he believed it is perhaps not “appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” which enraged the Iranian team and prompted the federation to explore moving matches to Mexico.

“This is the World Cup, and the teams should feel safe playing the games in the country where they’re taking place,” Larsen said. “The president should not be fomenting concerns about Iran playing in the United States.”

Larsen also said that Team Melli is a “quality football club” on the pitch. “They’re not number 48, let’s put it that way,” Larsen said, referring to the number of teams participating in FIFA’s expanded tournament.

“So you’re going to get good soccer, and unfortunate is too weak of a word, I think it’s disappointing that the president has taken that tack,” said Larsen, who is also a Seattle Sounders and Reign fan.

Seattle is set to host six World Cup matches, including FIFA’s controversial Pride Match between Egypt and Iran on June 26. Iran’s other two group stage matches are scheduled for L.A. Under the current schedule, if Iran and the U.S. both place second in their groups, they would face each other in the knockout rounds.

Despite Iran’s push to move matches, FIFA said in a statement that it’s looking forward to the schedule going ahead as planned. It would be a huge undertaking to move matches this close to the tournament, and would continue to be an issue if Iran advanced in the tournament. If Iran’s match is moved out of the U.S., Larsen said he wants FIFA to give Seattle a makeup game.

Larsen’s district does not include Seattle proper, but it covers a large swath of Washington between the city and Canadian neighbor Vancouver, which will host seven World Cup matches. Both the U.S. and Canadian men’s national teams will play group stage matches in the two cities.

“No one needs to go anywhere else in the country, they can just come spend all their money in the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian West,” Larsen said.

At a meeting of the FIFA Council on Thursday, Infantino said FIFA wants the World Cup “to go ahead as scheduled.”

“FIFA can’t solve geopolitical conflicts, but we are committed to using the power of football and the FIFA World Cup to build bridges and promote peace as our thoughts are with those who are suffering as a consequence of the ongoing wars,” Infantino said.

Federal Officials Scramble to Prepare for World Cup

This week, House Democrats introduced three pieces of legislation to rein in immigration enforcement at the World Cup, including at stadiums and Fan Fests and on public transit.

The Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, often play a large security role at major sporting events. But critics of the Trump administration’s immigration policies have sought clarity around ICE’s role at sporting events. Ahead of Super Bowl LX, the NFL clarified that ICE wouldn’t be on the ground. Former DHS Sec. Kristi Noem had previously said “We’ll be all over that place.”

The Athletic first reported on the proposed legislation.

Trump’s pick to lead DHS, Sen Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.), said the U.S. is “behind” on World Cup preparations during confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday. He noted the partial DHS shutdown in place since Feb. 14, which had delayed the distribution of security funding for host cities, and the amount of staff members that have quit.

“We’re behind in FIFA [World Cup] right now on actually delivering the mission that we have to,” Mullin said.