I think it is ridiculous, we haven't banned Russian athletes from playing in this country (ie Zadorov) with the Ukraine invasion and that's on a similar level to the plane crash/shooting down, so why are we banning Iranian athletes? Are Iranians allowed to emigrate still under Canada's wide open immigration policy?
The CSA isn't totally innocent here. They should have some situational awareness and determined if this was as hot a topic as it turned into. Iran of course wants to play an opponent who beat an opponent that they play in the group stages (USA), but Canada probably had a few options on the table last month or so before they chose to negotiate with Iran, but of course now it's really too late to find anyone else for 2ish weeks from now.
So do they play at all? Or forced to rush something in the window with a CONCACAF minnow like Curacao?
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