Shafaq News- Boston

Lotfollah Kaveh Afrasiabi, a former adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiating team who lives in the United States, has filed a lawsuit against FIFA in a US federal court in Boston, seeking $1 billion in damages over Iran's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Afrasiabi asked the court to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit on behalf of about 91 million Iranians and Iranian Americans, claiming they suffered emotional harm following Iran's exit from the tournament.

The lawsuit centers on a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision that disallowed a late goal scored by defender Shoja Khalilzadeh during Iran's group-stage match against Egypt. According to the complaint, the decision was "wrongful and deliberate" and amounted to discrimination and unequal treatment by FIFA.

"The $1 billion compensation may be less than the scale of the psychological damage," Afrasiabi said, describing the incident as a collective insult to the Iranian people. The lawsuit also cited logistical difficulties faced by Iran's national team during the tournament, including visa issues affecting members of the delegation and the relocation of the team's training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, because of tensions between Iran and the United States.

Read more: Iran: World Cup 2026’s ‘most oppressed’ team?

Earlier, Iran captain Mehdi Taremi criticized FIFA's handling of the tournament, calling it "a disaster" and pointing to travel, accommodation, and visa-related challenges. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei also said his team faced exceptional circumstances before and during the competition, describing Iran as "the team most affected" at the tournament.

FIFA has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. Court proceedings are expected to begin in the coming weeks.