The Canadian soccer federation, Canada Soccer, announced on Thursday that it had canceled the friendly match that the Canadian men’s team was to play against Iran after protests from Iranian groups and political parties.

Canada Soccer announced in a brief one-paragraph statement the cancellation of the match scheduled for June 5 in the Canadian city of Vancouver, but gave no explanation for the decision.

The announcement of the cancellation of the friendly match, which was part of the Canadian soccer team’s preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, comes after several weeks of protests.

As soon as Soccer Canada announced the friendship, relatives of Canadian citizens who died when Iranian Revolutionary Guards shot down Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight 752 over Tehran in January 2020 questioned the game and demanded its cancellation.

The anti-aircraft missile attack killed 176 people, including 55 Canadians of Iranian descent and 30 Iranians who were permanent residents of Canada.

After hearing complaints from relatives of the deceased, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau questioned the friendly match, saying it was not a good idea.

The main opposition party, the Conservative Party, also called for the cancellation of the friendly match and took the opportunity to attack the Trudeau government.

The protests escalated when it emerged in the last few hours that Soccer Canada had agreed to pay Iran 400,000 Canadian dollars (313,000 US dollars) for the participation of the Iranian national team.

Canada has qualified for the first time in 36 years for the World Cup which will be played this year in Qatar.

Canada will play in Group F, the same which includes Belgium, Croatia and Morocco. AND