The legendary Japanese football player supported Iran, he was left without a sponsor

His statement caused stormy reactions, and not long after, Honda revealed that he was left without a sponsorship contract because of it.

Keisuke Honda wrote on social media on Thursday that he would like to see Iran at the upcoming World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“I know it’s a very sensitive issue, but I personally want them to participate in the World Cup,” Honda said, referring to an earlier statement by Iran’s sports minister who expressed doubt that the performance of Iranian soccer players could be safe.

Not long after that, Honda spoke out again and revealed that his message had concrete consequences.

The former Japanese national team member stated that the American company with which he was supposed to record a commercial for the World Cup decided to cancel the cooperation.

“Apparently my statement caused an American company to cancel a commercial we were supposed to shoot for the World Cup. We don’t want to do business with companies that ignore the bottom line and make decisions based on a distorted way of thinking,” Honda said, without revealing which company it was.

The whole situation is further complicated by political and security issues. The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, said that the Iranians are welcome to the tournament, but that for their own safety, perhaps they should not come.

The Minister of Sports of Iran also emphasized that, in his opinion, there are currently no security conditions for the national team to participate in the World Cup.

However, the Football Association of Iran said that the national team has fairly earned a place in the world’s biggest football competition and that only the Association can make the final decision on the eventual performance.

This year’s World Championship starts on June 11, while the final is scheduled for July 19.

(Vijesti.ba)