Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.
Blatter was the latest international soccer figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X on Monday that supported Mark Pieth's comments in an interview last week with a Swiss newspaper.
Pieth, a Swiss attorney specialising in white-collar crime and an anti-corruption expert, chaired the Independent Governance Committee's oversight of FIFA reform a decade ago. Blatter was president of the world's governing body for soccer from 1998-2015. He resigned amid an investigation into corruption.
In his interview with Der Bund, Pieth said, “If we consider everything we've discussed, there's only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! You'll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don't please the officials, they'll be put straight on the next flight home. If they're lucky.” In his X post, Blatter quoted Pietha and added, “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.” The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.
The international soccer community's concerns about the United States stem from Trump's expansionist posture on Greenland, travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protesters in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.
Oke Göttlich, one of the vice-presidents of the German soccer federation, said in an interview on Friday that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup.
Two weeks ago, travel plans for fans from two of the top soccer countries in Africa were thrown into disarray when the Trump administration announced a ban that would effectively bar people from Senegal and Ivory Coast from following their teams unless they already have visas. Trump cited “screening and vetting deficiencies” as the main reason for the suspensions.
Fans from Iran and Haiti, two other countries that have qualified for the World Cup, will be barred from entering the United States as well. They were included in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
Spanish soccer federation president jumps the gun
Spain will host the final of the 2030 World Cup, the president of the Spanish soccer federation has said even as FIFA has not yet said where it plans to stage the decisive match of a tournament that will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. But Rafael Louzán told reporters at a media event that the title match will be in Spain, although he did not specify in which city or venue it would be played.
Real Madrid's recently renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium has been long touted by Spanish media as the venue for the final, but recently there had been reports that Morocco could end up hosting the match. Morocco was hoping to host the final at the under-construction Hassan II Stadium, set to be the largest soccer arena in the world with a capacity of 115,000 after its planned completion in 2028.
Also read: Over 10,000 attend FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour in Guwahati
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