Toronto. The Canadian Football Association canceled a controversial Test match against Iran after criticism from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The meeting, originally scheduled for June 5 in Vancouver, will not take place, as the association announced on Thursday. However, no specific reason was given for this. The encounter, which was only officially announced on 12 May, was intended to be part of Canada’s preparations for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
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“I think it was not a good idea to invite Iran’s football team”
“I think it was not a good idea to invite the Iran football team here to Canada. But the organizers have to explain that,” the politician Trudeau said in mid-May. The invitation was controversial because a plane was shot down shortly after take-off by Iranian forces near Tehran on January 8, 2020. Among the 176 people killed on the plane were 55 Canadians and 30 other residents of the country.
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The Iranian Sports Ministry condemned Canada’s decision and demanded millions of damages. Claims by Western states that the game should not be politicized proved absurd, with Canada’s unilateral disapproval, Deputy Minister Sina Kalhor tweeted on Thursday evening. The deputy minister said Iran would take legal action against Canada, seeking cancellation and damages of ten million US dollars (9.3 million euros).
rnd/dpa
