fifa 2010 world cup qualifying groups
If Israel met Iran in World Cup 2010, and one refused to play, would FIFA ban the country for interference?
My theoretical country is based on this, an Iranian Judo Olympian refusing to compete with an Israeli athlete:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archive…
FIFA has tentatively set bans on Spain, Iraq, Kuwait, etc recently and all I could tell was it was due to government interferance. Would governments supporting a refusal to play another country in World Cup bring forth disqualification?
I really hope Israel and Iran both qualify, and that the scenario comes true and the countries put aside political differences and compete to see whose the better team.
BTW: all answers please pretend both teams qualify. I actually believe Israel has a great shot in their group, the only competition I see is Greece, and maybe Switzerland.
Clearly if it was the team acting on the country’s orders, the country that withdrew from the match would be receive a FIFA ban and probably be disqualified from the tournament. FIFA has mandated that there will be no government interference whatsoever to the Football Federation of any country. Now should the Federation refuse or the players refuse to play that is entirely a different situation, an unprecedented situation as far as I know. FIFA in any case treats each case as case by case and it would be up to their discretion.
Hypothetically, Israel still has to reach the big dance first.
Draw group for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010