The ongoing military tensions between Israel and Iran have now affected the world of football. Inter Milan’s Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi is in danger of missing out on the FIFA Club World Cup. Tensions between the two countries have reached a peak after the Israeli army’s ‘Operation Rising Lion’ operation killed top Iranian military officials and Iran’s ‘True Promise 3’ operation was launched in response.
Taremi is stuck in the Iranian capital Tehran amid the tension. Although the rest of Inter Milan’s footballers have already arrived in the United States to participate in the Club World Cup, the 32-year-old Taremi has not been able to leave the country.
Inter Milan confirmed the matter in a statement, saying, “Our forward Mehdi Taremi is safe. However, we do not want to take any risks by bringing him to the United States by land at this time.”
Taremi returned home to play for Iran in the World Cup qualifiers during the international break. He scored the second goal in the match against North Korea last Tuesday. He was due to join the team in Los Angeles on Saturday after the match, but his scheduled flight was cancelled due to the closure of Mehrabad Airport due to the Israeli attack.
As a result, Taremi is certain to be absent from Inter Milan’s first match. The team will face Mexican club Monterrey on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Bangladesh time).
This match marks the beginning of Inter’s new coach Christian Chivu’s coaching career. The 44-year-old Romanian replaced former coach Simone Inzaghi after his resignation following the 5-0 defeat to PSG in the Champions League final.
Taremi will also miss Inter Milan’s matches on June 21 and 25 if air traffic does not return to normal soon. As a result, the team’s two main strikers—Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez and France’s Marcus Thuram—will have to shoulder more of the responsibility in attack.
Taremi joined Inter Milan from Portuguese club FC Porto last year. He has scored three goals and provided nine assists for the club so far, but has been used mostly as a substitute under former coach Inzaghi.
Due to the current worsening war situation, it is still uncertain when Taremi will be able to join the team in the United States.
