Sardar Azmoun Omitted from Iran World Cup Squad

Sardar Azmoun has been omitted from Iran's preliminary World Cup squad.

The omission follows his social media protest against the Iranian regime.

Azmoun is 31 years old and has scored 57 goals in 91 appearances for Iran.

His club career includes spells at Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and Zenit St Petersburg.

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has a variety of attacking players at his disposal.

He elected to leave Azmoun out despite the striker's prolific record.

Proposed US entry requirements could force travelers to submit their social media history to officials.

Such requirements would prevent Azmoun from traveling to the United States for the tournament.

Should Iran qualify, the team will compete without Azmoun.

The decision removes one of Asia's top scorers from the World Cup roster.