Columbus' Meram withdraws from Iraq over travel ban concerns
Columbus Crew attacker Justin Meram has withdrawn from the Iraqi National Team for a pair of upcoming World Cup qualifiers because of travel concerns stemming from President Donald Trump's dubious travel ban.
Meram, 28, who has American-Iraqi citizenship, will miss a March 23 match against Australia in Tehran, Iran, and a clash with Saudi Arabia five days later.
The Iraqi FA released a statement on Facebook Friday, with translation courtesy of Sam Fahmi of Massive Report:
Iraqi national team technical director Basil Gorgis has confirmed the absence of our national team player, Justin Meram, from the upcoming matches against Australia and Saudi Arabia in the first and second rounds of the deciding world cup qualifications round. He added that the technical staff exhausted a considerable effort with Meram to change his mind about not coming to Iran due to the recent decisions by the American government with regards to its relations with the Islamic Republic. He (Gorgis) tried to point out to the player and his family that his entrance to Tehran will not affect his presence in America. That was not convincing even with assertions from the Association's legal expert Dr. Nazar Ahmed. So, the national team technical staff decided to scratch his name from the list of player that will participate in the two upcoming games, hinting that the final list for the national team will be released tomorrow at the latest on the Association's official website.
Trump's Executive Order 13769, titled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," was introduced by the former reality TV host for a "complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
The contentious decision has since prompted worldwide protests and obstructions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with the Department of Homeland Security halting the enforcement of portions of the order.