Iranian political scientist files $1 billion lawsuit against FIFA over disallowed World Cup goal

A former adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against FIFA, president Gianni Infantino, and an unspecified number of anonymous officials, alleging that a VAR decision deliberately cost Iran victory over Egypt at the 2026 World Cup. Lotfolah Kaveh Afrasiabi, 68, a Massachusetts-based political scientist, filed the civil complaint on 30 June in Boston federal court.

Afrasiabi is seeking class-action status on behalf of up to 91 million “Iranian nationals and/or Iranian-Americans who supported the Iran football national team and who were emotionally scarred by the flagrant discrimination against their beloved team.” The lawsuit centres on a disallowed goal in Iran’s group-stage match against Egypt on 26 June, in which centre-back Shoja Khalilzadeh’s strike was ruled out following a video review that determined he had been offside. The match ended 1-1, sending Egypt through to the knockout stage for the first time in their history while Iran were eliminated.

The complaint alleges “clear and incontrovertible” proof that FIFA’s Video Assistant Referee system made an “erroneous” decision that was “deliberately designed to deprive Iran of victory.” It also cites Fox Sports commentator Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who reportedly called the ruling a “theft” and said FIFA owed Iran an apology, pointing to evidence that an Egyptian defender was positioned behind the Iranian players at the time of the goal.

In a phone call with The Independent, Afrasiabi described his $1 billion demand as “very generous,” adding that a sympathetic jury might award even more. “If I end up with fair jurors, they might even consider a higher amount because of how wrong FIFA’s misconduct was in this case,” he said.

Afrasiabi is a notable figure beyond football. He previously served as an official adviser during Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the Obama administration and was later accused by US federal authorities of acting as an unregistered agent for the Iranian government. He was part of a prisoner swap between the US and Iran in 2023.

FIFA has not publicly responded to the lawsuit. The legal action is unlikely to succeed given the significant jurisdictional and standing hurdles involved in suing an international sporting body in a US federal court on behalf of tens of millions of potential plaintiffs, though no independent legal analysis was cited in the original filing.