The call from the Ukrainian federation comes three weeks before Iran face England in the first match in Group B of the World Cup. Recently, Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk advocated the same.

Shakhtar believes that Ukraine, who lost to Wales in a World Cup rematch, should earn Iran’s place, but a similar request has not come from the country’s football association, the AP wrote.

The international football federation (Fifa) has so far not commented on the investigation from Ukraine. It is not uncommon for FIFA to suspend member states as a result of military decisions taken by national governments.

The Ukrainian Football Association believes that Iran provided military support for the war against Russia. Both Russia and Iran have denied claims that Russian forces have bombed Ukrainian targets with Iranian-made drones.

FIFA promises through its laws to “respect all internationally recognized human rights” and works to help ensure that these rights are protected.

It should be mentioned that the association did not mention this law when it suspended the Russian team from international competitions a few days after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time, FIFA cited security and integrity risks as reasons for the ban.

FIFA had previously rejected demands from Iranian groups to suspend the country’s national football team due to unrest in the country that has been going on since mid-September. Protests emerged in Iran and elsewhere in the world after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s moral police in September, and several Iranian football players have supported the protests.

Apart from England, Iran is in the same World Cup group with the US and Wales. The championship in Qatar starts on November 20.