A boycott of the FIFA World Cup is just around the corner. This would be a gigantic blow to Donald Trump

The attack on Iran began on Saturday morning. As a result of military operations, Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, which was confirmed by Tehran on Sunday morning.

The Israeli side (e.g. Defense Minister Israel Kac) described it as a pre-emptive attack, and US President Donald Trump, announcing the start of combat operations, called on the Iranian nation to rise up against the regime.

In response, Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, mainly targeting American military bases in the region.

World Cup 2026: Alex Haditaghi on boycotting the World Cup. He was born in Iran

The situation in the Middle East arouses great interest in the world’s media, and there is also no shortage of emotions in Poland. Alex Haditaghi spoke on the US actions together with Israel and their consequences.

Who are we talking about? He is a Canadian businessman who was born in Iran and grew up in Turkey. As a child, after the death of his father, he went overseas with his mother and siblings. Currently, Haditaghi is the owner of the football club Pogoń Szczecin, with great ambitions to conquer the Polish football market and expand into wider European waters.

– I talked to several players of the Iranian national team and they decided that Iran would boycott the 2026 World Cup and not take part in it (…) I wouldn’t be surprised if other national teams made the same decision. History has shown us moments such as the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, and looking at what is happening today, it is hard not to see similarities – admitted the owner of the club playing in the football PKO BP Ekstraklasa, publishing an entry on the X portal.

Can a large-scale boycott actually happen? It’s hard to say what will happen in the coming months. This latest installment of the war in the Middle East has only just begun, and it is difficult to predict what the next moves will be.

Let us remind you that this year’s World Cup is to be held in three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. This is the first time in the history of the World Cup that there were three host countries. Additionally, the 2026 World Cup will also be historic in terms of the number of participants, the largest, with a total of 48 teams playing.

The tournament is scheduled from June 11 to July 19. The opening match will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The final will take place in the USA, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Argentina will defend the 2022 championship title. Lionel Messi and his teammates won the World Cup in Qatar, defeating France in the final after a series of penalties. Interestingly, the most important match of the four-year period in the world was officiated by a referee from Poland. It was Szymon Marciniak, a referee from Płock, who received very high marks for his performance.

The Polish team reached the 1/8 finals of the event, losing out to the eventual finalists, the French. The Poles lost 1-3, but advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup was the first time for Polish players since the 1986 tournament.