A senior German football executive has urged European nations to consider boycotting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as unease grows over President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric toward Europe and the politicization of the tournament. Oke Göttlich, president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli and a vice president of the German Football Association, said in an interview with German media that it was time to “seriously consider and discuss” a boycott, likening the current situation to Cold War-era Olympic boycotts. “What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?” Göttlich told the Hamburger Morgenpost. “By my reckoning, the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
Göttlich also criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino, widely viewed as a close ally of President Trump, accusing football authorities of inconsistency in their approach to politics. “Qatar was too political for everyone, and now we’re completely apolitical?” he said. “That really, really bothers me.” His remarks come as President Trump ramps up pressure on U.S. allies, from renewed claims over Greenland to threats of military action in Venezuela, while positioning the World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — as a major soft-power symbol of his second term.
European governments remain divided on the issue. France’s sports minister said this week there was “no desire” in Paris to boycott the tournament, arguing that sport should be kept separate from politics.
Still, several football leaders have previously taken political stances, including Norway’s federation president Lise Klaveness on human rights and Ireland’s push to exclude Israel from international competition. Göttlich dismissed concerns that a boycott would unfairly affect players, saying, “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host.”