Ex-FIFA pesident suggests US WC boycott over Trump policies
Published: 27 January 2026, 6:48:07
A former FIFA president suggested that international soccer fans should not travel to the US for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing safety concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s policies that critics call “authoritarian.”
Sepp Blatter made the comment in a social media post on Monday, Jan. 26. The 89-year-old led FIFA for 17 years before resigning amid a corruption scandal in 2015.
Blatter was referencing remarks from Mark Pieth, a Swiss law professor and anti-corruption expert who previously chaired FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee.
“For fans, just one piece of advice: avoid the United States!” Pieth told the Swiss newspaper Der Bund. “You’ll get a better view on television anyway. Upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t behave properly with the authorities, they will be immediately sent home, if they’re lucky.”
Sharing the first sentence of Pieth’s statement, Blatter added, “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
Blatter stepped down as FIFA president in 2015 and was replaced by Gianni Infantino, who has drawn criticism for forging close ties with Trump. Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini were acquitted in 2025 of charges tied to a delayed 2011 payment from FIFA, The Guardian reported.
The US will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, with the first match scheduled to kick off in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11. The World Cup final is set to take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19.
Pieth also referenced Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross in early January. Since Pieth’s interview, a federal agent killed a second US citizen, Alex Pretti, in the Twin Cities on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Trump’s mass deportation efforts have made traveling to the US unappealing for international visitors, according to Pieth.
“The country itself is in a state of tremendous turmoil,” he said. “What we’re witnessing domestically – the marginalization of political opponents, the abuses by immigration authorities, and so on – doesn’t exactly entice a fan to travel there.”
Pieth also said the US and Mexico are in “a similar security situation.”
“In Mexico, it’s the drug cartels threatening violence,” said Pieth. “In the US, it’s a state that’s becoming increasingly authoritarian.”
The warnings join a growing number of global voices pushing for a World Cup boycott.
British politicians across the political spectrum have called for skipping the tournament, especially amid Trump’s attempts to annex the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland. England and Scotland have already qualified for the World Cup, while Denmark and either Northern Ireland or Wales could still earn a spot through UEFA’s playoffs in March.
Supporters from Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Iran, and Senegal may not be able to attend because they’re on a list of 39 countries whose citizens are banned from entering the US. The Trump administration has also frozen immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including more than a dozen World Cup participants, although the move doesn’t appear to apply to players, team staff, and fans on tourist or business visas, The Athletic reported.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has advocated for FIFA to lower ticket prices for local fans, has said he plans to speak with Trump about his policies’ impact on the World Cup.
“We have to allow the world to be here in order to fully experience the world,” Mamdani told The Athletic. “We also appreciate the fact that we have such incredibly strong diaspora communities in the city as well.”
FIFA hasn’t indicated that it would strip the US of co-hosting duties or ban the national team from the World Cup. Still, Infantino has faced criticism for his increasingly close relationship with Trump, who was awarded FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, drawing a formal ethics challenge in December 2025.
The Russian national team has been banned from the World Cup since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. UEFA officials considered disqualifying Israel from World Cup qualifying over its military occupation of Gaza, but a ban was never approved before Israel was eliminated from contention.
World Cup matches will also be hosted at two other Northeast stadiums: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
