World Cup boycott threats hit fever pitch as 11 countries embroiled in controversy

A number of competing nations at the forthcoming World Cup are coming under pressure to pull out of the tournament because of United States President Donald Trump

Calls for nations to boycott the World Cup are growing amid Donald Trump’s volatile behaviour. Since FIFA awarded Trump its inaugural ‘Peace Prize’ at last month’s draw, US forces have seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital Caracas, while the President has threatened to annex Greenland, warning he would impose new tariffs on countries, including Britain, that oppose his plan.

Trump has since dropped those threats after a “framework” for a deal on access to the mineral-rich island was reached, while talks with Denmark and Greenland over security continue. Domestically, there have been two deadly shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, while tensions between the US and Iran, one of the competing nations, are on the rise amid civil unrest in the country.

Trump, who is demanding a nuclear deal with Tehran, has said a “massive armada” had been dispatched to the Middle East as part of a build-up of US forces in the region. That has led to calls in some quarters for qualified teams to withdraw from the tournament, which will see 78 of its 104 matches played in the United States. The other 26 will be played in Canada and Mexico.

There is no suggestion at present that England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales (the latter pair are involved in the play-offs) will withdraw from the tournament, despite calls from some UK MPs.

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Conservative former minister Simon Hoare and Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam Luke Taylor said the Home Nations should pull out of the tournament in protest at Trump. Hoare said the Government needed to “fight fire with fire” and embarrass Trump.

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In Europe, a German Football Association (DFB) official has said it is time to consider boycotting the tournament in the wake of Trump’s actions. Oke Gottlich, a DFB vice-president, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper: “I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this [a boycott] concretely. For me, that time has definitely come.”

The French government has said it is not currently in favour of a boycott, although some political figures in the country have said it should be discussed.

The Danish Football Association said it is “aware of the current sensitive situation.” Denmark must come through the play-offs in March to reach the tournament.

Authorities in Belgium have ruled out a boycott “at this stage.” Their stance is that sport should remain separate from politics, meaning the national team will play as planned. Again, that stance has been questioned by many in the country.

The Dutch federation, the KNVB, has said the Netherlands team is not planning to pull out at this stage, despite a public petition calling for a boycott securing more than 150,000 signatures.

In South Africa, political figures like Julius Malema, leader of the main opposition, have publicly called for the country’s football federation to consider a withdrawal in protest, citing comparisons between US policy and apartheid-era international responses.

There has already been World Cup tension between US and Iran after the Asian country threatened to boycott the draw over a visa row. Iran applied for nine visas but were only issued four.

Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s football federation (FFIRI), was among those rejected. However, a small delegation from the country did eventually attend the ceremony in Washington DC.

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