.The composition of the participants of the upcoming World Cup was determined a few months ago. There is very little time left before the start of the tournament – only three weeks, so the coaching staffs of the national teams are now in full swing preparing for the group stage matches, waiting for a pause in club football …
However, FIFA does not allow specialists to do their work calmly, taking up political issues instead of sports ones. After the removal of Russia, football officials have already threatened Iran with serious measures, and now they have taken on another country.
Can the national team still be thrown out of the tournament?
“We don’t have a problem”
The Tunisian national football team for the fifth time in history wins a ticket to the world championship. In the past, however, the team did not achieve great success at the World Cup – the country hopes that in a familiar climate, the Carthaginian Eagles will finally be able to leave the group.
The Tunisians qualified for the upcoming tournament without any problems, losing only one of the eight qualifying matches. This allowed the team to get a ticket to Qatar in advance and, accordingly, start preparing for it in advance.
Nothing foreshadowed trouble a month ago. The local federation systematically organized everything necessary for the players and the coaching staff. On September 27, the head of the FTF, Wadi Jari, even met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Paris. There, the officials discussed all the pressing issues, including the placement of players in hotels.
— I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the leadership of FIFA for the time they gave us. We have a great relationship and we have no problem when it comes to solving any issues that arise and advancing our work. Whether it’s competition, legal and administrative issues, infrastructure, or anything related to football and national teams, we have someone to turn to who can give us advice and share their experience in managing football, ”said the Tunisian at the end of the meeting. functionary.
However, just a month later, the British edition of the BBC unexpectedly released material on the official website stating that FIFA is considering the removal of the Tunisian national team from the World Cup. The reason was the interference of government officials in the football affairs of the federation of this country.
Scandalous reforms
It turned out that the functionaries of the association were extremely dissatisfied with the recent statements of the Minister of Sports of Tunisia, Kamel Deguisha. The former national triple jump champion recently announced large-scale reforms across Tunisian sport that would increase the influence of state power in this area. In a recent speech, Degish, among other things, even proposed the liquidation of all national federations. This is exactly what FIFA officials did not like.
Despite the fact that only three weeks are left before the start of the tournament, the association is in no hurry to make a decision. According to the BBC, FIFA has so far only sent an official letter to the Tunisian Football Federation asking for clarifications about the minister’s statements. The functionaries also reminded the Tunisian comrades of him that, according to the rules of the association, politicians do not have the right to interfere in the affairs of the federation. This may lead to the disqualification of the national team at all major international tournaments under the auspices of FIFA.
The World Cup in Qatar risks becoming the most scandalous even before the start. For various reasons, several teams could lose the status of participants in the tournament at once, which has never happened before in the history of the world championship. It all started back in March, when the Russian team was suspended from participation in the final part of the qualifying tournament.
At various times, FIFA officials have also been able to remove teams from Ecuador and Cameroon from traveling to Qatar. They urged not to allow the Iranian team to compete. However, so far all these teams have retained the right to participate in the tournament – the team from Russia remains the only affected team.
