Canada Soccer has canceled a friendly between the men’s national team and Iran next month, the national governing body said on Thursday, following widespread opposition to the match.
No reason was given for the cancellation of the match to be played on June 5 in Vancouver and it would have been the first for Canada at home since March, when they qualified for November 21. in December. 18 World Cup in Qatar.
The game had sparked opposition from politicians and the families of Canadians who died aboard a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down near Tehran in January 2020 by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had also said he thought it was “a bad idea” to invite Iran’s team to Canada.
“Over the past week, the unsustainable geopolitical situation of hosting Iran became a significant divide and in response, the match was canceled,” Canada Soccer said in a statement.
“While we took external factors into account when selecting the optimal opponent in our original decision-making process, we will strive to move forward better.”
Canada Soccer also said it will review its host international match process and is working to find an alternative rival.
A Canadian forensic task force had prepared a report in mid-2021 accusing Iran of incompetence and recklessness in dropping a Ukrainian passenger plane. Iran criticized the report as “highly politicized.”
The report found that while the crash of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 had not been premeditated, it did not absolve Iranian officials of responsibility for the incident.
Iran has admitted that it shot down the plane shortly after takeoff from Tehran and blamed a “disastrous error” on high-alert forces during a clash with the United States.