His comments came less than 24 hours after a close ally of US president Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli, revealed that he had asked FIFA to replace the Iranians with the four-time World Cup winners.
But Abodi said the swap would not happen: "Italy's possible re-qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which US President Donald Trump's envoy, Paolo Zampolli, has reportedly proposed to FIFA, is firstly not possible, and secondly, not appropriate. I don't know what comes first.
"Qualification is on the pitch".