Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the US launched airstrikes alongside Israel, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.
Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men's teams have been playing, since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Global football body FIFA has been urged by its own human rights advisory panel to give Iran a deadline for allowing women to watch football matches.
A female Iranian fan died earlier this month, after setting herself on fire to protest against her arrest for attending a match.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It will have made uneasy viewing for coach Jorge Sampaoli and emphasised more than ever how reliant his side are on their talisman Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem.
