Canadian football, which has been in good spirits since John Herdman’s team qualified for the World Cup, is now engrossed in controversy over a scheduled friendly against Iran next month in Vancouver.
The question is whether Canada should host Iran, given the Canadians who died on flight 752 of Ukraine’s International Airlines when it was shot down on January 8, 2020, minutes after taking off from Tehran by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The Canadian government says 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents are among the 176 killed.
Hamed Esmailion, a spokesman for the Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752, says his group has been against the match since rumors first surfaced. But the issue took center stage on Tuesday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about it by a reporter who said families who had lost loved ones considered the game a “slap in the face”.
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“It was Soccer Canada’s choice,” Trudeau said in St. John’s. “I don’t think it was a good idea to invite the Iranian football team here to Canada. But that’s something the organizers will have to explain. “
Canada Soccer did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
“They call it a friendly game,” said Esmailion, whose wife and young daughter were with those killed on Flight 752. “What friendship do we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran?”
“We want the (Canadian) government to bring them to justice. And instead we are humiliated by them? I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the back (as well as) by other family members. After 28 months, we see no signs of seeking justice here. We see no signs of taking Iran to an international forum. And instead, they invite the football team here (Iran). “
2:26 Tragic 2nd anniversary of the tragedy of flight 752 Tragic 2nd anniversary of the tragedy of flight 752 – January 8, 2022
Esmailion, who noted that the federal government is responsible for issuing visas, called it a “sport wash.”
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Canada Soccer and the federal government have not responded to families who have complained about the game, he said
“This is a way to normalize relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” And this is not the first time it has been used by dictators. “Russia has used this in the past, and Iran is following suit,” he said from Richmond Hill, Ont.
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He also said the Iranian team would be accompanied abroad by intelligence and officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“And now we welcome the IRGC officers, IRGC – the same site that shot down PS752. And we issue them visas. This is a threat to the national security of this country.
Esmailion also noted that Iran does not allow women to attend football matches. “This is against Canadian values,” he said.
4:21 US policy creates problems for some Iranian-Canadians US policy creates problems for some Iranian-Canadians – April 20, 2022
The federal government said Canada’s priority was “to seek answers and seek justice, holding Iran accountable and pursuing reparations, while continuing to provide the families and relatives of the victims with the support they need.”
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Canada hosts Iran on June 5 in Vancouver, part of the dueling host of BC Place Stadium. Canadian men will open the CONCACAF League of Nations A match against Curacao on June 9, before closing FIFA’s international window with another CONCACAF League of Nations match against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.
Canada, ranked 38th in the world, and number 21 Iran are preparing for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
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The Vancouver games are Canada’s first home since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 victory over Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto on March 27. It also marks the Canadians’ first visit to BC Place since March 2019, when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in the CONCACAF League of Nations qualifiers.
The Canadians led the last round of the CONCACAF qualifiers with a record 8-2-4. Their last match was a 1-0 loss to Panama on March 30th.
Canada has a 1-2-0 record of all time against Iran, winning its last 1-0 match in April 2001 in Cairo. Iran won 1-0 in the 1997 and 1999 matches in Toronto and Edmonton, respectively.
The match with Iran is one of the few warm-up World Cup warm-ups for John Herdman’s team before Qatar. Herdman said he would look to take the team to Europe in the autumn to play a few more games to prepare for Qatar.
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Canada opens the World Cup match on November 23 against No. 2 Belgium, before facing Croatia No. 16 on November 27 and Morocco No. 24 on December 1.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
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