Iran Threatens Soccer Star's World Cup Participation

0:00It's March 28th. This is Global News Today, powered by AI, Your World, in real-time. I'm Corey with the story. Iran's judiciary is threatening to seize the property of Star Soccer player Sardar Asmol, who's been labeled a government critic. The 31-year-old forward who has scored 57 goals in 91 games for Iran's national team ranked second on the all-time scoring. He's one of 16 people on a list from goalist and province facing asset confiscation. Reports say Asmol was left out of recent warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup, because of a social media post showing him with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. That post got deleted, but his account still features a photo from January 2025 with Dubai's ruler. He's shown support for anti-government protests in the past. Since an observer's worry, this could keep him off Iran's World Cup roster entirely. The team, now without him, lost one nail to two, and a friendly against Nigeria played

1:01in Turkey due to security issues. Asmol currently plays for Shabab al-Ali in Dubai after stints at clubs like Roma, Bayer, Leberkuzin, and Zenit St. Petersburg. This move comes after Iran's top judicial official, warned of targeting celebrity seen as opponents of the regime. As mound six million Instagram followers highlight his huge influence. Iran has qualified for its fourth straight men's World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They'll face New Zealand and Belgium in Englewood, California, then Egypt and Seattle, but questions linger over their line-up strength.