The transatlantic conflict reaches football: After Donald Trump’s claims on Greenland, more and more European politicians are calling for a boycott of the World Cup in the USA.
Amid the conflict between the USA and the European NATO states over Donald Trump’s claims to Greenland, a familiar debate is catching up with football. In Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands, voices are being raised, particularly in politics, to boycott the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The US President had used the summer tournament (June 11 to July 19) for his own purposes weeks ago.
Who is calling for a World Cup boycott? And why?
In Germany, CDU foreign politician Jürgen Hardt, among others, spoke in detail. In the event of an annexation of Greenland by the USA, he said on Deutschlandfunk that he could not imagine celebrating a happy football festival in the States in the summer. From his point of view, an illegal occupation of Greenland means that the Europeans have to check “whether they can take part in such games”. But he firmly believes that this will not happen and that Trump will abandon his plan.
In Great Britain, among others, the conservative MP Simon Hoare commented. The government must fight “fire with fire” and oppose Trump decisively. The planned visit of King Charles III. in the USA he questioned it for the same reasons. Trump must be hit where it hurts him – his ego. The US president is “thin-skinned” and doesn’t like being embarrassed.
In the Netherlands, a boycott petition was addressed to the national association KNVB and the government, which was signed more than 100,000 times in just a few days. The call said it was “incompatible for our footballers to take part in a tournament run by a president who is threatening to invade and occupy his own ally Greenland, thereby destroying NATO and endangering world peace.”
How important is the World Cup for Trump? How important is Trump for the World Cup?
For Trump, the World Cup is a huge stage in the second year of his second term in office – even if he hasn’t had much to do with “soccer” so far, would like to completely close the border with co-host Mexico, and would ideally like to incorporate Canada into the USA. Hosting the World Cup is a huge prestige project.
A special, sometimes very critical dynamic had developed between the US President and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino well before the Greenland conflict. During the World Cup draw in December, Infantino ingratiatingly handed over the so-called FIFA Peace Prize to the US President, who would have liked to officially win the Nobel Peace Prize. According to comments on social and traditional media, many people found the spectacle on the FIFA stage strange.
In response to criticism of the proximity to Trump, FIFA said that as president, Infantino would have to have “good relationships” with the heads of state of the host countries in order to ensure a successful event. The International Olympic Committee obviously sees things similarly, not least with a view to the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028. “He has his World Cup in a few months. I would be a little worried if there wasn’t a good relationship,” said IOC boss Kirsty Coventry about Infantino’s connection to Trump. The FIFA President is also an IOC member in his capacity.
In fact, a well-intentioned Trump appears to be essential to the hosting of the 48-team tournament. The Republican caused a stir by threatening to withdraw the games from undesirable, democratically run cities. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia (Wladimir Putin) and 2022 in Qatar (Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani), FIFA plunged into similar, personal relationships of dependency.
How likely is a World Cup boycott?
As of today, the World Cup will kick off on time with the opening game between South Africa and Mexico, as will the first German game on June 14th against outsiders Curaçao. The German Football Association is a burnt child when it comes to boycott debates. There was also a heated debate before the 2022 World Cup – at that time because of the human rights situation in the host country. The German national team dragged the discussion about who should behave when and how into the tournament and was eliminated in the preliminary round.
There had already been boycotts in world sport – for example at the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles in 1984. However, the sports associations repeatedly emphasize that politics and sport should be viewed separately. Boycotts are not seen as a solution to geopolitical problems. The Dutch association KNVB said: “We have qualified for the finals and will take part.”
A boycott of European teams would also affect the fans. The fixtures have been decided for weeks, thousands of people have bought tickets and booked some expensive and long trips. “When it comes to boycott threats in sport, I am generally skeptical. You are punishing the fans and the athletes, the benefits are questionable,” said Bundestag member Ralf Stegner (SPD) to the “SZ”.
dpa/SUF
