An Iranian-American political scientist has filed a US$1 billion lawsuit against FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other FIFA officials, alleging Iran was unfairly denied a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage following the controversial disallowing of a late goal against Egypt.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Boston by Kaveh Lotfollah Afrasiabi, who is seeking class-action status on behalf of millions of Iranian nationals and Iranian-Americans who supported the national team. He claims the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision to disallow Iran’s stoppage-time goal was deliberately designed to deprive the team of victory and advancement to the Round of 32.
Iran’s apparent winning goal by Shoja Khalilzadeh in the 1-1 draw with Egypt was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. The decision left Iran’s World Cup hopes hanging in the balance before the team was ultimately eliminated from the tournament. Reuters reported at the time that the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
In addition to challenging the officiating decision, the lawsuit alleges FIFA discriminated against Iran throughout the tournament and failed to ensure fair treatment for the team. FIFA had not publicly responded to the lawsuit at the time of publication. (Newswire)