FIFA have to stop fawning over Donald Trump and take action ahead of the 2026 World Cup

The countdown to this summer's World Cup continues to be dominated by the implications on the tournament of the American and Israeli air strikes against Iran

You don’t have to be a keen follower of geopolitics to know that what Donald Trump says one day can mean nothing the next day. But Gianni Infantino is a keen follower of geopolitics and a very keen follower of the President of the United States.

Presumably, Infantino was not too surprised when, less than 48 hours after saying he had spoken with Trump and it would be absolutely fine for the Iranian national team to take part in the World Cup, the American president said it would not be ‘appropriate’ if Iran took part. It would not be 'appropriate...for their own life and safety', apparently.

Not only had Infantino said Iran would be welcome, he had declared: “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together, now more than ever. I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that football unites the world.”

The ink was barely dry on Infantino’s social media post before Trump was saying Iran should not participate ‘for their own safety’. Very unifying.

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This is the man for whom Infantino, essentially, created something named the FIFA Peace Prize, don’t forget. The man who was given the FIFA Peace Prize by Infantino later unleashed Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East.

Less than three months after Infantino gave him a medal to go with the Peace Prize trophy, Trump commented on the airstrikes against Iran. “We are knocking the crap out of them,” said FIFA’s Peace Prize guy.

By the time Trump had delivered his warning about their ‘safety’, Iranian sports minister Ahmad Donyamali had already said ‘under no circumstances can we participate” in the World Cup. According to Infantino, his latest meeting with Trump was “to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days.”

It might be growing excitement in some quarters, but it is growing trepidation in others. The United States and Israel conducted air strikes on Iran late last month and there have been retaliatory strikes on Middle East bases housing American bases and on Israel.

The conflict is clearly not going to be resolved in the short term and it will hang over the World Cup like a pall. Qatar and Saudi Arabia will play in the World Cup and Iran has launched missiles at both of those nations.

Conflict will be the background noise to the greatest football show on earth. Infantino and FIFA need to make a stance over Iranian participation. And their priority should be to ask the Trump administration to provide reassurances that the Iranian team will be as safe as any team coming over to play in the World Cup.

That would involve another change of heart from Trump but he is not averse to those. Infantino, though, would be averse to doing anything that might even remotely upset Trump.

He has given him a peace prize, for goodness sake. He has worn his cap. He has laughed at his lousy jokes. He has hung around the Oval Office, he has hung around Mar-a-Lago.

He has called him a ‘close personal friend’. And this, by the way, is the president of a football organisation that is supposed to be strictly non-political.

The situation is complex, that is for sure. In their own statement, the Iranian national team said: “… no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.”

Whether you agreed with that sentiment or not, it is not going to happen. The United States will be one of the hosts of World Cup 2026.

The time, though, has come for Infantino to stop fawning over Trump and to demand some proper answers and reassurances. But don’t hold your breath.

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