Canada cancels national team friendly vs. Iran in Vancouver

Sportsnet.ca – TORONTO, Canada Soccer gave way to mounting criticism Thursday, cancelling a planned friendly against Iran.

In a one-paragraph statement, the governing body gave no reason for calling off the game at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.

“Canada Soccer has canceled the international match that was scheduled for 5 June, 2022 against Iran as part of the men’s national team preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Additional details will be provided to all ticket purchasers,” the statement read.

But there was plenty of talk both behind the scenes and on the record, with politicians piling on the decision to invite Iran, a team ranked 21st in the world that like the Canadian men is heading to the World Cup in Qatar in November.

At issue is whether Canada should be hosting Iran given the Canadians who died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 when it was shot down on Jan. 8, 2020, minutes after taking off from Tehran, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The Canadian government says 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week the game “wasn’t a very good idea,” pointing the finger at Canada Soccer. The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims called for Canada Soccer “to cancel the game immediately.”

Association spokesman Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife Parisa and young daughter Reera were among those who died on Flight 752, said in an interview last week. “What kind of friendship do we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran?

“We want the (Canadian) government to take them to international court. And instead of that, we get humiliated by them … I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the back — (as well as) the other family members. After 28 months we don’t see any sign of seeking justice here. We don’t see sign of taking Iran to any international forum. And instead of that they invite the (Iran) soccer team here.”

Conservative MPs added their voice to the protest on Wednesday. And the PM said this week that it will be up to the Canada Border Services Agency whether the Iran team is allowed into the country.

Ralph Goodale, Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom, added his voice Wednesday to the rising chorus of disapproval.

“This behaviour by Canada Soccer is repugnant. It calls into question both the competence and the values of the organization,” he tweeted.

In March 2020, Goodale became a special adviser to the PM “for Canada’s response to Iran’s shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.”

The Iran game was to be the first of a two-game Vancouver homestand. The 38th-ranked Canadian men open CONCACAF Nations League A play there against Curacao on June 9 before closing out the FIFA international window with another CONCACAF Nations League game against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.

Yulia Kovaliv, ambassador-designate of Ukraine to Canada, stated that Ukrainian’s national team “is ready to play” the Canadians and that proceeds can be donated towards humanitarian efforts in Ukraine amidst Russia’s invasion of the country.

For Canada Soccer, the Iran contest was seen as a rare chance to test the Canadian men against a team outside of their CONCACAF confederation, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The Canadians have played just two teams from outside their region since John Herdman took over as coach in January 2018: a 1-0 loss to Iceland in January 2020 and a 1-0 win over New Zealand in March 2018.

Instead the game became a political albatross, tarnishing the Canadian’s men’s feel-good road to Qatar.

And with the World Cup looming and an already congested soccer schedule, warmup games are hard to squeeze in. After June, there is just one more FIFA international window with Canada likely to play in Europe in September.

The June window opens Monday, with players arriving from their clubs from around the world. Now they will get extended training time rather than a match ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League fixtures.

Canada has not played on home soil since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at Toronto’s BMO Field on March 27. The Canadian men last played at B.C. Place in March 2019 when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying.

The Canadians topped the final round of CONCACAF qualifying with an 8-2-4 record. Their last game was a 1-0 loss in Panama on March 30.

Canada has a 1-2-0 all-time record against Iran, winning the most recent encounter 1-0 in April 2001 in Cairo. Iran posted 1-0 wins in 1997 and 1999 games in Toronto and Edmonton, respectively.

Canada opens World Cup play Nov. 23 against No. 2 Belgium before facing No. 16 Croatia on Nov. 27 and No. 24 Morocco on Dec. 1.