The AFP asked the government about the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup organized in Canada, United States and Mexico between June 11 and July 19. “The federal government respects the autonomy of sport. Decisions regarding participation in or boycotting major sporting events rest exclusively with the responsible sports federations, and not with the political world,” said Schenderlein, a member of the CDU, the conservative party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In Germany, a great soccer nation, the first voices have been raised in recent days calling for a boycott—and even annulment—of the World Cup in response to the threats of the Republican magnate. “If Donald Trump carries out his threats about Greenland and triggers a trade war with the EU, it is difficult for me to imagine European countries participating in the World Cup,” The influential conservative MP Roderich Kiesewetter told the daily Augsburger Allgemeine on Tuesday.
Another CDU deputy, Jürgen Hardtspokesperson for his group on foreign policy, mentioned to the newspaper Bild a “cancellation of the tournament” as a “last resort to make President Trump see reason.”
Calling for a “united response” from Europe, Social Democratic (SPD) deputy Sebastian Roloff mentioned to the business daily Handelsblatt the option of “considering giving up participation in the World Cup.”
According to a survey of Insa institute for Bild held on Thursday and Friday to 1,000 people, Almost half of Germans (47%) would approve of a boycott of the World Cup in the event of the effective annexation of Greenland by Washington.
More than a third (35%) would remain opposed. Four-time world champions, the German team has not missed a World Cup since the immediate post-war period (1950). Donald Trump shows great closeness with the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantinowho presented him with a newly created FIFA Peace Prize during the World Cup draw in December.
