Sardar Azmoun keeps silence as Iran’s World Cup snub raises questions | OneFootball

Sardar Azmoun, Iran’s third top scorer, remains omitted for political reasons, officially for 'disloyalty'. His 91st and latest cap was on 25 March 2025, a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan.

"I have a lot to say, but unfortunately I am not speaking. For now, let the players focus," he said on Varzesh3.

The row traces to March and an Instagram photo with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s emir and UAE prime minister, which angered his government.

As the World Cup neared, Team Melli held firm and left out a striker with 57 goals. Now 31, he has 3 goals and 2 assists in 15 UAE Pro League games this season.

Before the squad was named, he wished the players and staff success and pride in Persian. He also said that, at 17, he rejected a lucrative approach to represent another country, insisting he was a child of Iran and wanted to make its people happy.

He was later announced injured. Coach Amir Ghalenoei praised him as an excellent player, said they would have liked him there, then likened the situation to Neymar missing matches.

Azmoun’s international story has often been fraught, from missing Carlos Queiroz’s 2014 list to briefly retiring after the 2018 World Cup amid abuse, and in 2022 risking exclusion after supporting protests following Mahsa Amini’s death.

Source: L'Équipe