Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 Fifa World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.

President Donald Trump also said his administration “would not want to affect the athletes” in comments he made at the White House.

The 2026 soccer World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Paolo Zampolli, a Trump envoy who has no official connection with the World Cup, had earlier suggested that Italy should replace Iran at the tournament.

“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.

“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added. Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”

Currently there is no suggestion Iran will withdraw or be banned from the tournament that Italy missed out on.

After the start of the Iran war, Iran requested that Fifa move the team’s three group matches from ⁠the US to Mexico, which was rejected.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran ‌war ⁠began over two weeks ago.

Villarreal moved closer to securing third place in La Liga with a 1-1 draw at Real Oviedo on Thursday, while another defeat left Sevilla teetering on the brink of the relegation zone.

Nicolas Pepe’s first-half penalty looked to have been enough to send Villarreal seven points clear of Atletico Madrid, but Ilyas Chaira’s strike midway through the second period ensured the spoils were shared.

Despite the result, Villarreal moved to 62 points and boast a five-point cushion over fourth-placed Atletico, who are on a four-match losing streak in the league.
Real Oviedo, who were looking to make it three wins from three, remain bottom of La Liga, six points away from safety.

Former Arsenal winger Pepe won and converted a penalty on 13 minutes to put the visitors in front.

But Oviedo levelled in the 69th minute as Ilyas’ heavily-deflected effort left goalkeeper Arnau Tenas with no chance.

Ayoze Perez came within inches of winning it for Villarreal inside the final 10 minutes but his effort came off the bar and bounced to safety from the goal-line.

Earlier, seven-time Europa League and UEFA Cup winners Sevilla sank further into the relegation battle as they went down 2-0 at Levante.
Ivan Romero netted in the 38th minute to put the 19th-placed hosts in front, before adding a second late on to secure all three points for Levante.

Sevilla languish in 17th place, one point above Alaves in the final relegation spot.

Victory for Levante gave them hope of escaping the drop zone as they climbed to 32 points — two behind the Andalusians and safety.

Rayo Vallecano put some distance between themselves and the relegation dogfight courtesy of a 1-0 win at home to Espanyol.
Sergio Camello’s 87th-minute winner took Rayo to 38 points and 11th place, one spot ahead of the Catalans on goal difference.
On Friday, Real Madrid will look to close the gap, provisionally, to Liga leaders Barcelona when they visit Real Betis.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s charges sit nine points behind their arch-rivals and know a victory early in the weekend’s round of matches will amp up the pressure on Barcelona 24 hours after the news that star Blaugrana attacker Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. 

Cameras showed former New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch in the team’s draft room Thursday night during the first round.

At one point, Tisch was seen standing near Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Despite no longer holding a majority stake in the NFL franchise, Tisch remains the Giants’ chairman of the board.

ESPN obtained an NFL memo last month detailing plans by Steve Tisch and his siblings to transfer their stake in the Giants to trusts for their children.

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“Prior transfers to these Trusts were completed pursuant to 2023 and 2024 Finance Committee approvals,” the memo stated. “The Sellers now propose to transfer their entire remaining interests, totaling 23.1% of the Club, to the Trusts. … Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.”

GIANTS CO-OWNER STEVE TISCH, SIBLINGS LOOK TO TRANSFER EQUITY STAKE TO CHILDREN’S TRUSTS, NFL MEMO SHOWS

It was not clear if the transfer requests were in any way related to Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. Tisch’s name came up more than 400 times in the files. Tisch at the time said he knew Epstein but denied visiting Epstein’s island.

As for draft night, the Giants made what some viewed as an unconventional pick at No. 10, selecting offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.

Francis Mauigoa of Miami celebrates after being selected as the tenth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Before that, the Giants added another piece to their pass rush, selecting hybrid edge/off-ball linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5.

Reese earned All-American honors at Ohio State and finished his first season as a full-time starter with 6.5 sacks.

Arvell Reese of Ohio State celebrates after being selected as the fifth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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Reese is set to join a pass rush that includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and, likely, Kayvon Thibodeaux.

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