27.1.2026
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has backed a proposed fan’s 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 is the latest international football 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 that supported Mark Pieth’s comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.
Blatter was president of the world’s governing body for football from 1998-2015 until his resignation amid a corruption investigation.
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 Pieth 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 11 June-19 July.
The international football community’s concerns about the United States as host stem from Trump’s expansionist posture on Greenland, travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protestors in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.