Shakhtar said that Iran should be removed from the World Cup because of their alleged military support to the Russians.
Sergei Palkin, the chief executive of Shakhtar, accused Iran of being involved in terrorist attacks on Ukrainians and suggested that his own country's team should play in Qatar.
"This will be a fair decision that should draw the attention of the world to a regime that kills its best people and helps kill Ukrainians," he said.
According to the White House, the US has evidence that Iranian troops are on the ground in Crimea. About 330 Iranian-built "Shahed" drones were used by Russian forces as of Saturday, according to the head of Ukrainian intelligence service.
Both Russia and Iran denied that the drones were built in Iran.
Iran will face England in the second game of the World Cup and then face Wales and the US in Group B.
A request for comment was not immediately responded to by the sport's governing body. If an Asian team were suspended, there wouldn't be a precedent for a European team at the World Cup.
Yugoslavia was barred from trying to qualify for the 1994 World Cup because of UN sanctions during the war in the Balkans, but football's world body doesn't usually suspend member federations because of military decisions.
Russia was barred from playing in the World Cup qualification playoffs due to the invasion of Ukraine. Poland refused to play the game due to security and integrity concerns.
Iranian fan groups want the national team to be suspended because of the street protests in support of women's rights and because of a longstanding policy of not allowing women to attend games in soccer and other sports.
When the country's government is found to have interfered in the running of the national football federation, the national team is usually suspended.
The United Arab Emirates was the best of the five Asian confederation teams that made it to the World Cup. The intercontinental playoffs took place in June and Australia defeated the United States of America.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
