A special envoy for Washington has revealed his pressure campaign targeting FIFA to ditch the Islamic Republic

Italian officials have rebuked a US proposal for their national football team to replace Iran at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Italy lost the chance to participate at the World Cup for a third successive time after a humiliating penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff last month, triggering widespread backlash at home and leading to the resignation of the head of the national football federation.

However, an American proposal to give Italy Iran’s spot at the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico this summer, sparked indignation in Rome.

The proposal is impossible and inappropriate, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told the Italian news agency La Press, stressing: “You qualify on the pitch.” Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called the idea “shameful.”

The possibility of a swap was raised by Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who heads the Office…