Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter says soccer fans should avoid traveling to the United States for the 2026 World Cup this summer.Blatter’s reasoning? His belief that President Donald Trump’s international aggression and immigration crackdown across the country makes it dangerous for fans traveling overseas.Blatter cited Mark Pieth, an anti-corruption expert and law professor who oversaw the Independent Governance Committee during FIFA’s reform from 2013-16. Pieth spoke with Swiss outlet Der Bund, where he told soccer fans to, “Stay away from the USA!”CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”‘For the fans, there’s only one piece of advice: stay away from the USA!’ I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup,” Blatter, 89, tweeted on Monday.Pieth added in his interview: “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.”The United States is set to co-host this year’s World Cup, as Mexico and Canada will be the site for games in the tournament that spans from June 11–July 19. However, after the Round of 16, all remaining matches will be held in the U.S.Trump’s stance toward Greenland has led to a call to boycott the World Cup this summer by German soccer federation executive Oke Göttlich.”I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this concretely,” Göttlich told Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper about a potential boycott. “For me, that time has definitely come.”Trump said recently that a “framework of a future deal” with NATO involving Greenland and the Arctic region has been discussed, which could ease tension in that regard.”Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.There is also the criticism of ICE agents in U.S. cities, specifically Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the deaths of two U.S. citizens as immigration crackdowns continue.Pieth discussed that factor as well in his interview.”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 likened the States’ “security situation” to Mexico, where drug cartels threaten violence ahead of matches in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Pieth believes the U.S. has become “increasingly authoritarian.”It’s worth noting Blatter was forced out of his post as FIFA president in 2015 following one of the biggest corruption scandals in the sport involving wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering.Gianni Infantino took over Blatter’s role, and he has had a strong friendship with Trump.The State Department als
Ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter warns soccer fans against traveling to US for 2026 World Cup under Trump
