Even though my support for international football is at best lukewarm, in the past I have looked forward to the World Cup and have great memories of top-class competitions. I remember very vaguely the 1966 competition and the well-deserved England victory, beating the then West Germany in the final 4-2. I will not claim to recall the football in that competition, I was only five years old, but I do recollect the street parties which became a natural progression of the tournament. The grown-ups celebrated to a greater or lesser extent England’s victory as some of them over exaggerated their joy using the event as an excuse to remain permanently pissed despite never having attended a football match in their lives.
My memories of football became clearer two years later when Manchester United won the European Cup in 1968, having lifted the league championship in 1967. Those two years between 1966 and 1968 made a huge difference as I was developing. The 1970 World Cup I remember very well and by this time I was welded to the game, its culture, and, in particular Man Utd. One outstanding moment on the 1970 tournament was the great Brazilian, Pele, meeting a cross to head down to the bottom of the lefthand post, as he looked, in a game against England the holders. Gordon Banks, the English keeper, got down to the ball at his righthand post as he looked, a world-class save from a world-class keeper against the world’s number one, Pele. Argentina 1978 and the performance of Mario Kempes of Argentina is another competition I recall greatly and who can ever forget Italia 90 and the Irish team marching onto the top eight on the planet? I was in Dublin for the Irish team’s homecoming which was electric to say the least.
As soon as I heard this World Cup, 2026, would be played in the USA – as well as Mexico and Canada – with Trump in the White House I knew immediately it would become a farce. The United States under Trump who, in my view is deranged, should never have been given the tournament. Ask yourself, would the sycophants of FIFA have used Germany in 1942 - a would have been World Cup year - as a venue with Hitler in charge? Perhaps don’t answer that question because nothing them half-wits come up with would surprise me. The USA are in a state of war, unless they have altered the definition of war, with Iran. The US were holding talks with the Iranians over that country’s nuclear programme when Trump, along with the other war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, began bombing the crap out of the country. It was unnecessary and in all probability illegal under what remains of ‘international law’. From then on the US should not have been considered as a venue and things could and have, from a footballing point of view, get worse. There are those who, not unreasonably, demand that politics should be kept out of sport which is, unfortunately, not really possible because politics is a wide and deep subject. Parliamentary politics and geopolitics maybe should be kept out of sport but Trump has just smacked that theory right down.
As soon as I heard this World Cup, 2026, would be played in the USA – as well as Mexico and Canada – with Trump in the White House I knew immediately it would become a farce. The United States under Trump who, in my view is deranged, should never have been given the tournament. Ask yourself, would the sycophants of FIFA have used Germany in 1942 - a would have been World Cup year - as a venue with Hitler in charge? Perhaps don’t answer that question because nothing them half-wits come up with would surprise me. The USA are in a state of war, unless they have altered the definition of war, with Iran. The US were holding talks with the Iranians over that country’s nuclear programme when Trump, along with the other war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, began bombing the crap out of the country. It was unnecessary and in all probability illegal under what remains of ‘international law’. From then on the US should not have been considered as a venue and things could and have, from a footballing point of view, get worse. There are those who, not unreasonably, demand that politics should be kept out of sport which is, unfortunately, not really possible because politics is a wide and deep subject. Parliamentary politics and geopolitics maybe should be kept out of sport but Trump has just smacked that theory right down.
The modern game, such as it is, has already been systematically degenerated by the ‘International Football Association Board’ (IFAB) with their daft rule changes and the detested, by fans, VAR. The IFAB have made it virtually impossible for defenders to tackle in the once time-honoured way without being in danger of sending off. The England team who conquered in 1966 would have stood no chance today with defenders like Jack Charlton Centre Half, Nobby Stiles, shifting from fullback to defensive midfield, and was described as a “tough tackler”. Today the likes of these players would be sent off within the first twenty minutes so downgraded has the game become. The price gauging at this World Cup has attracted criticism from supporters particularly those of England and Scotland. English players are reportedly being given priority to purchase up to 1,000 tickets per game which has angered many fans and understandably so. Despite all these negatives imposed by the so-called powers that be within the game the White House has also thrown its arse into the ring. They have made it almost impossible for an impartial competition to take place as teams representing a country the egotistic Trump does not like receive special treatment.
Iran, the USAs adversary in the middle eastern conflict, have been told they cannot enter the US except on the day of their match immediately returning to their base in Mexico after the final whistle. The Iranians must therefore commute on matchdays to and from their venue in the US. They must train and sleep in Mexico or any other country apart from the USA. This is discriminatory treatment on a par with that received by Jewish Athletes by the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics of 1936. I would imagine such discrimination against one team is against FIFA rules, putting the Iranians clearly on a different disadvantaged playing field from the rest in the competition. To rub salt into the wound the Trump gang have refused visas for at least fifteen of the Iranian backroom team, trainers, kitmen and others. Why did FIFA allow the USA to continue being a venue with this administration at the helm? They could argue, with some justification, that fans had already booked up accommodation and it would cost them a fortune to relocate to another country. That is true but when did the supporters become of any concern to FIFA? Why are the world governing body not showing the same support for fans over ticket gauging? When Trump was elected to the Presidential Office FIFA knew an unstable nutter would be in charge in the White House for the tournament. At that point, knowing what an unpredictable entity Trump is, and while time still permitted, they should have pulled the rug on the USA as a venue, possibly using Mexico and Canada without the USA. However logistical problems in this plan are obvious, the USA lies between Mexico and Canada. Therefore a completely new venue or venues could have been selected, England and Ireland for example, or Scotland, Norway and Iceland maybe. FIFA, if they had any balls at all, which they have not, should have organised a relief scheme to assist fans who had already coughed up inflated amounts for accommodation in the US. Back in 2024 that number should have been minimal because the qualifying games were still on so fans expense would not really have been a valid excuse for not relocating.
The Trump gang have stuck the boot in again this time with a match official. Somali referee Omar Artan has been denied a visa to enter the US according to early reports. The US authorities, Trump and his cronies, have raised concerns over vetting, citing “derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organisations” which, they claim, made him a “national security threat”. Further reports say Artan was stopped at Miami International Airport on his way to a mandatory, under FIFA rules, pre-World Cup training camp. This was despite the referee “holding a valid visa and FIFA accreditation” so reports he was denied a visa cannot be true because he already had one. This makes the interference worse because it now, visa or no visa, means any person can be denied entry at the whim of Trump or one of his cowboys. FIFA required all match officials to stay at the Florida training hub and because Artan cannot fulfil this he was “completely removed from officiating at the tournament”. It is, of course, the US governments right to refuse entry as it would be any government but knowing the likelihood of the deranged Trump, if for no other reason than he could do it, would take this to extremes FIFA should have pulled out back in 2024.
The European governing body, UEFA, have stepped in with a sop. They have offered the highly qualified Somali referee the 2026 UEFA Super Cup played between the European Cup winners and the UEFA Cup winners on 12th August in Saltzburg, Austria. Omar is regarded as the best referee on the African continent and has reportedly returned to Somalia, fuck knows how he must feel! All FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, told critics was to “chill and relax” when he was asked about FIFAs failure to resolve the situation “to enable Artan to enter the US”. Instead of saying the obvious that it was a mistake to use the US under Trump as a venue and admitting he is shit scared of the tyrant, he tells everybody to “chill and relax”. There have been no reports of evidence backing up the Trump administration’s claims about Artans links to terrorists but, like the Nazi SS, they do not need evidence to expel people on the grounds, if they are honest, of race and/or ethnicity. Before the 1936 Berlin Olympics the German Olympic committee selected one Jewish athlete to draw attention away from their anti-Semitism, then, citing a dip in the athlete’s form, dropped the Jew from their Olympic team. This was despite the Jewish athlete, Gretel Brgmann, performing some of her personal bests and equalled the German women’s high jump record. Nazi officials dropped her from the team. This was a nonsense excuse by the Nazis just as the reasons behind Omar Artan’s connections to terrorism is an opportunistic excuse to refuse a Somali entry to the US. This is in common with most of the dangerous political fantasies emitting from the White House these days.
The regime governing Iran is little if any better than the Trump Gangsters. Like Trump who has people shot for anti-government protests in the street so too do the authoritarian religious autocracy in Tehran. Perhaps the major difference is the scale of the murders carried out by both. The Trump Mafia tends to gun down individuals, whereas the regime in Iran do the same thing en masse. The religious gang in Iran kill people demonstrating against them and their authoritarianism in the name of Allah, Al Malik, God , call it what you wish and Trump also invokes God from time to time to justify his actions.
Iran, the USAs adversary in the middle eastern conflict, have been told they cannot enter the US except on the day of their match immediately returning to their base in Mexico after the final whistle. The Iranians must therefore commute on matchdays to and from their venue in the US. They must train and sleep in Mexico or any other country apart from the USA. This is discriminatory treatment on a par with that received by Jewish Athletes by the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics of 1936. I would imagine such discrimination against one team is against FIFA rules, putting the Iranians clearly on a different disadvantaged playing field from the rest in the competition. To rub salt into the wound the Trump gang have refused visas for at least fifteen of the Iranian backroom team, trainers, kitmen and others. Why did FIFA allow the USA to continue being a venue with this administration at the helm? They could argue, with some justification, that fans had already booked up accommodation and it would cost them a fortune to relocate to another country. That is true but when did the supporters become of any concern to FIFA? Why are the world governing body not showing the same support for fans over ticket gauging? When Trump was elected to the Presidential Office FIFA knew an unstable nutter would be in charge in the White House for the tournament. At that point, knowing what an unpredictable entity Trump is, and while time still permitted, they should have pulled the rug on the USA as a venue, possibly using Mexico and Canada without the USA. However logistical problems in this plan are obvious, the USA lies between Mexico and Canada. Therefore a completely new venue or venues could have been selected, England and Ireland for example, or Scotland, Norway and Iceland maybe. FIFA, if they had any balls at all, which they have not, should have organised a relief scheme to assist fans who had already coughed up inflated amounts for accommodation in the US. Back in 2024 that number should have been minimal because the qualifying games were still on so fans expense would not really have been a valid excuse for not relocating.
The Trump gang have stuck the boot in again this time with a match official. Somali referee Omar Artan has been denied a visa to enter the US according to early reports. The US authorities, Trump and his cronies, have raised concerns over vetting, citing “derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organisations” which, they claim, made him a “national security threat”. Further reports say Artan was stopped at Miami International Airport on his way to a mandatory, under FIFA rules, pre-World Cup training camp. This was despite the referee “holding a valid visa and FIFA accreditation” so reports he was denied a visa cannot be true because he already had one. This makes the interference worse because it now, visa or no visa, means any person can be denied entry at the whim of Trump or one of his cowboys. FIFA required all match officials to stay at the Florida training hub and because Artan cannot fulfil this he was “completely removed from officiating at the tournament”. It is, of course, the US governments right to refuse entry as it would be any government but knowing the likelihood of the deranged Trump, if for no other reason than he could do it, would take this to extremes FIFA should have pulled out back in 2024.
The European governing body, UEFA, have stepped in with a sop. They have offered the highly qualified Somali referee the 2026 UEFA Super Cup played between the European Cup winners and the UEFA Cup winners on 12th August in Saltzburg, Austria. Omar is regarded as the best referee on the African continent and has reportedly returned to Somalia, fuck knows how he must feel! All FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, told critics was to “chill and relax” when he was asked about FIFAs failure to resolve the situation “to enable Artan to enter the US”. Instead of saying the obvious that it was a mistake to use the US under Trump as a venue and admitting he is shit scared of the tyrant, he tells everybody to “chill and relax”. There have been no reports of evidence backing up the Trump administration’s claims about Artans links to terrorists but, like the Nazi SS, they do not need evidence to expel people on the grounds, if they are honest, of race and/or ethnicity. Before the 1936 Berlin Olympics the German Olympic committee selected one Jewish athlete to draw attention away from their anti-Semitism, then, citing a dip in the athlete’s form, dropped the Jew from their Olympic team. This was despite the Jewish athlete, Gretel Brgmann, performing some of her personal bests and equalled the German women’s high jump record. Nazi officials dropped her from the team. This was a nonsense excuse by the Nazis just as the reasons behind Omar Artan’s connections to terrorism is an opportunistic excuse to refuse a Somali entry to the US. This is in common with most of the dangerous political fantasies emitting from the White House these days.
The regime governing Iran is little if any better than the Trump Gangsters. Like Trump who has people shot for anti-government protests in the street so too do the authoritarian religious autocracy in Tehran. Perhaps the major difference is the scale of the murders carried out by both. The Trump Mafia tends to gun down individuals, whereas the regime in Iran do the same thing en masse. The religious gang in Iran kill people demonstrating against them and their authoritarianism in the name of Allah, Al Malik, God , call it what you wish and Trump also invokes God from time to time to justify his actions.
The sympathies here are not with the Iranian administration but the country’s footballers, backroom team, and supporters who have worked hard to get to the World Cup Finals and have had treatment meted out to them which is undeserved. FIFA and their President, still no doubt ‘chilling and relaxing’ could and should have done more to counter Trump and his unsporting actions. The truth is Gianni Infantino is terrified of Trump or, perhaps more apt, the money which upsetting the tyrant could cost not only FIFA but business in general. What a fucking state of affairs this once great game is in, tragic!
The US authorities have under a sweeping travel framework restricted nationals from 39 countries from entering the country. Visa processing has been paused or heavily limited for officials from another 75 countries, significantly reducing the number of people able to enter the USA. There has, however, been some protests though not from FIFA or its “chill and relax” President. At the open ing ceremony in Toronto Canadians booed the USA flag, showing their disapproval at the ruination of what could and should have been a great tournament.
The US authorities have under a sweeping travel framework restricted nationals from 39 countries from entering the country. Visa processing has been paused or heavily limited for officials from another 75 countries, significantly reducing the number of people able to enter the USA. There has, however, been some protests though not from FIFA or its “chill and relax” President. At the open ing ceremony in Toronto Canadians booed the USA flag, showing their disapproval at the ruination of what could and should have been a great tournament.
For the next six weeks or so the FIFA President will be probably seated on the toilet, “chilled and relaxed”, crapping himself in case he says the wrong thing and upsets Trump! All things considered this tournament instead of being a classic (by today’s standards) is turning more and more by the day into a farce. The main motivator in this competition is not the game, but money. Once again, the interests of football have been “sacrificed on the altar of big business” and geopolitics, according to Donald Trump.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
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