Canada Soccer says it is cancelling a controversial exhibition game against Iran initially set for next month in Vancouver, saying it has become “significantly divisive.”
“Over the past week, the untenable geopolitical situation of hosting Iran became significantly divisive, and in response, the match was cancelled,” said Canada Soccer in a statement issued Thursday evening.
“While we considered the external factors in selecting the optimal opponent in our original decision-making process, we will strive to do better moving forward.”
The soccer organization said it “has the best of intentions” in arranging the international match for June 5 as part of Team Canada’s preparations for the FIFA World CUP in Qatar later this year.
But the decision to host Iran drew the scorn of the families of those who died aboard Flight PS752 when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the plane in 2020.
All 176 passengers and crew members on board the aircraft were killed, including 85 Canadians and permanent residents.
The families said the exhibition match was an insult to those still seeking justice for their loved ones — especially given persistent concerns about the IRGC’s possible ties to Iran’s team.
“We are happy,” said Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesperson for the association representing victims’ families in Canada. “This is the right thing to do … We were worried about IRGC officers coming to Canada, normalizing Canada’s relationship with Iran.”
Canada Soccer said it would conduct a “throughout review” of its “processes for hosting international matches” and consult with stakeholders moving forward. Victims’ families said Canada Soccer never responded to their letters asking about the match.
The soccer organization said it’s looking for a new opponent for the game and is working to get refunds to those who bought tickets for the match, which was almost sold out when it was cancelled.
Sina Kalhor, Iran’s deputy minister of sport, tweeted late Thursday that he’s seeking $10 million in damages from Canada Soccer, saying the organization broke its contract by cancelling the game.
Canada Soccer has cancelled the international match that was scheduled for 5 June 2022 against Iran as part of the Men’s National Team preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Additional details will be provided to all ticket purchasers. <a href=”https://t.co/7GhKT5toa7″>pic.twitter.com/7GhKT5toa7</a>
CBC News reported Tuesday that the head of Iran’s team said Canada Soccer would be paying Iran’s soccer federation $400,000 for the game.
The team’s director, Hamid Estili, told Iranian state-affiliated media that the payment would mark the first time in more than two decades that Iran’s soccer federation made a profit off a friendly match.
Canada Soccer did not confirm or deny that quoted amount but said it’s standard practice to pay visiting teams appearance fees to cover expenses.
Canada Soccer received more than $3 million in federal funding this fiscal year. The government says none of that money went toward the match.
Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge said in a statement to CBC News that the government “commends Canada Soccer for making this decision” and is looking forward to cheering on Team Canada during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ukraine’s ambassador-designate to Canada Yulia Kovaliv is now calling on Canada Soccer to have a friendly match with Ukraine’s soccer team instead.
“And 400K could go for humanitarian needs of Ukrainians affected by Russia’s war,” wrote Kovaliv. “I guess it’s win-win.”
Ukrainian football team is ready to play with <a href=”https://twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CanadaSoccerEN</a>. ???????? ranks higher – 24th in <a href=”https://twitter.com/FIFAcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@FIFAcom</a> rating. And 400K could go for humanitarian needs of Ukrainians affected by russia’s war. I guess it’s win-win <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#StandWithUkraine</a> <a href=”https://t.co/woD2iVydw6″>pic.twitter.com/woD2iVydw6</a>
The soccer organization was under mounting political pressure to call off the nearly sold-out match at BC Place.
Ralph Goodale, Canada’s high commissioner to the U.K. and Canada’s former special adviser on Flight PS752, tweeted Wednesday that Canada Soccer’s behaviour is “repugnant” and “calls into question both the competence and values of the organization.”
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart also condemned the game. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said again earlier this week that he thought the game was “a bad idea” and distanced his government from the match and its funding.
WATCH | Canada Soccer paying Iran’s team for match:
Canada Soccer to pay Iran’s team $400K for controversial soccer match
2 days ago
Duration 2:05
There’s growing controversy around a planned exhibition match between the Canadian and Iranian soccer teams set for Vancouver for June. CBC News has reported that Canada Soccer will pay $400,000 to Iran’s soccer federation for the game — and that the head of Iran’s team attended a party with a man wanted by the FBI in relation to an alleged plot to kidnap international targets.
Conservative MPs Matt Jeneroux and Richard Martel called Canada Soccer’s decision to invite and pay Iran’s team “unacceptable.”
“Hosting the Iranian national soccer team as victims of Flight PS752 are still suffering and seeking compensation is reprehensible and will only further serve to legitimize the Iranian regime,” the MPs wrote in a media statement.
Victims’ families also wrote letters to Public Safety Canada officials Tuesday raising concerns about their own security. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says victims’ families have reported being harassed, threatened and intimidated by proxies of the IRGC.
Hamed Esmaeilion at a soccer match with his daughter Reera, who was also a soccer player. Reera, 9, died on Flight PS752 along with her mother Parisa Eghbalian. (Submitted by Hamed Esmaeilion)
Experts say politics and sports in Iran are intertwined, with the IRGC either directly or indirectly controlling many sports organizations, including soccer clubs.
As CBC News first reported, photos taken last month show the head of Iran’s soccer team, Hamid Estili, attending a party with an alleged Iranian intelligence informant with ties to the IRGC who is wanted by the FBI.
At the time of the party, a warrant had been out in the U.S. for Mahmoud Khazein’s arrest for almost a year. He was being sought on charges related to a plot to kidnap international targets, including three people in Canada. The FBI is now looking into the matter, according to a person at the centre of the alleged kidnapping scheme.
Estili has not responded to CBC’s request for comment, submitted last week on Instagram.
Longtime sports journalist and CBC News contributor John Molinaro said it appears Canada Soccer only viewed the game as a way for Team Canada to prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and didn’t consider the public relations fallout.
Iran is ranked 21st in the FIFA men’s world rankings. Canada is ranked 38th.
Esmaeilion said that he now wants the federal government to put the entire IRGC on its list of terrorist organizations, as the U.S. has done. Right now, only a clandestine branch of the IRGC is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada.
WATCH | Victims’ families want match called off:
Flight PS752 victims’ families outraged by Canada’s soccer match with Iran
9 days ago
Duration 2:04
The families of the victims in the downing of Flight PS752 are demanding Canada Soccer cancel a planned game with Iran’s soccer team, saying they feel betrayed by the move.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
