United States President Donald Trump has said Iran would still be welcome to participate in this summer’s FIFA World Cup despite escalating hostilities involving the country, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Infantino revealed the comments in a post on Instagram after meeting Trump on Tuesday to discuss preparations for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The competition is scheduled to begin on 11 June.

The FIFA president said the pair discussed the ongoing situation in Iran during their meeting.

“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote.

“We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the president of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that football unites the world.”

Iran’s participation in the tournament had been uncertain following recent military escalation involving the United States and Israel. Strikes carried out earlier this month reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran later responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and several Gulf Arab countries that host US military bases, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the tensions, Iran’s national team is currently scheduled to play three group-stage matches in the United States. They are set to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on 15 and 21 June respectively, before meeting Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.

Last week, Trump told Politico that he did not consider Iran’s participation a major issue, saying: “I really don’t care” if the team takes part.

However, concerns remain within Iran’s football community. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, was quoted as saying that the recent attacks have made it difficult to approach the World Cup with optimism.

Meanwhile, Australia has granted humanitarian visas to several members of Iran’s women’s national football team due to concerns about their safety.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said seven people were initially granted asylum, although one later chose to return home.

The rest of the Iranian players departed Australia on Tuesday after the team was eliminated from the AFC Asian Cup.

Police were forced to intervene after supporters of Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. clashed on the pitch following a dramatic Old Firm encounter at Ibrox Stadium.

The incident occurred after Celtic supporters surged onto the pitch to celebrate their side’s 4–2 penalty shootout victory in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final.

What began as celebrations quickly escalated when Rangers fans entered the field, triggering a confrontation between the rival groups. Flares were reportedly thrown as tensions rose, prompting police officers and stadium stewards to step in and form a human barrier separating the two sets of supporters.

Despite the brief disorder, the situation was brought under control relatively quickly, with fans eventually returning to the stands.

The match marked the first time since 2018 that Celtic supporters were granted the full allocation in the Broomloan Stand at Ibrox. In previous years, the number of away supporters allowed into the stadium had been drastically reduced to fewer than 1,000.

Historically, around 7,500 Celtic fans would fill the stand during Old Firm clashes, one of the fiercest rivalries in football.

Since the reduction in 2018, away fan allocations at both Ibrox and Celtic Park have fluctuated significantly, ranging from roughly 750 supporters to none at all, following a series of tit-for-tat decisions between the two clubs.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Football Association strongly condemned the behaviour that followed the match.

“The Scottish FA condemns the behaviour from supporters entering the field of play following today’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final at Ibrox Stadium,” the spokesperson said.

They added that a formal investigation will be launched immediately in accordance with the organisation’s judicial panel procedures.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has postponed the 2026 edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) just 12 days before the tournament was scheduled to begin in Morocco.

In a statement released on Thursday, Caf announced that the competition had been rescheduled due to “unforeseen circumstances”. The tournament will now take place from 25 July to 16 August.

The event had originally been set to run from 17 March to 3 April and will also serve as a qualifying competition for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Morocco had been preparing to host the finals for a third consecutive time. However, uncertainty over the country’s readiness had caused growing concern among players and supporters in recent weeks, particularly amid speculation that the hosting rights might be transferred elsewhere.

Questions about Morocco’s preparedness intensified following the chaotic aftermath of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final. In that match, Senegal national football team defeated Morocco national football team 1-0 in a tense encounter at the Stade Moulay Abdellah in Rabat.

Despite the speculation, Caf said preparations for Wafcon are continuing and did not indicate any change to the host nation.

The governing body explained that the postponement was intended to “ensure the success of this important women’s competition”. The group-stage draw for the expanded 16-team tournament had already been held on 15 January, though Caf had yet to release the full match schedule.

Earlier uncertainty surrounding the tournament had already drawn attention. At the beginning of February, Gayton McKenzie, the sports minister of South Africa, was forced to clarify remarks made by his deputy suggesting South Africa might take over hosting duties.

The latest delay is likely to renew criticism over Caf’s handling of women’s football competitions. The 2020 edition of Wafcon was cancelled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was pushed back to early 2022.

The most recent Wafcon tournament, held in 2024, was also delayed until July because of scheduling conflicts that included the 2024 Summer Olympics. That edition was eventually won by the Nigeria women’s national football team.

Wafcon is now the second major continental tournament to be postponed at short notice in recent months. In late 2024, Caf also delayed the African Nations Championship just 18 days before it was due to start across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in February 2025.

At the time, Caf said its technical experts had advised that additional time was required to ensure infrastructure and facilities met the necessary standards. The tournament was eventually staged in August last year.