EU look to ban Iran from the World Cup

Are Iran to be banned from participating in this summer's FIFA World Cup?

EU lawmakers will urge political leaders to back a controversial letter, sent to FIFA, calling for Iran to be banned from the World Cup finals because of controversial remarks by the country's president.

Members of the European Parliament will ask the head of soccer's world governing body, Sepp Blatter, and EU leaders to throw out the Iranian side, quoting statements from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust, as well as Iran's refusal to renounce its nuclear activity, report Last Kick.

FIFA has said it has no intention of banning Iran's team, which kicks off its campaign against Mexico on June 11 in Nuremberg. Unfortunately, the city hosting the match has a huge political history associated with Nazism.

"We have cross-party support for this and we will now go back to our governments and opposition parties and send them a letter, asking them to back our call," British Conservative Party MEP Chris Heaton-Harris told Reuters. "We believe a precedent has been set in the past, in particular in cricket and rugby with South Africa and FIFA needs to do the same."

The Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and has referred to the Holocaust as a myth.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the remarks were unacceptable and likened Iran's nuclear plans to the threat posed by the Nazis. However, she said she would not seek to ban Iran from the finals.

Iran faces possible U.N. sanctions unless it halts its nuclear activities, which the EU and the United States believe are a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is a civilian one to generate electricity. Heaton-Harris said the letter to Blatter urged that Bahrain, who finished runners-up to Iran in qualification, be given the Iranians' place in the finals.

This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened, with Yugoslavia being ousted from the European Championships in 1992. The Yugo's berth was then given to Denmark who went on to win the tournament.

[Mof Gimmers]