This summer, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted in North America, held its final match on Sunday, July 19, and it seems as if politics have continuously clashed with the tournament. Although the games have come to an end, the controversies surrounding the competition remain at the forefront of soccer fans’ minds.
The final match, held this past Sunday, was played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Spain defeated the three-time champion team, Argentina. Spanish player Ferran Torres scored the one and only goal in the 106th minute. Having been crowned as the 2026 FIFA World Cup champions, this triumph marks Spain’s second World Cup trophy since their first win in 2010.
The Presence of ICE at FIFA World Cup Stadiums
The World Cup, co-hosted in the United States, has brought millions of fans from across the world to America, following a period of extremely high racial tensions toward immigrants.
Mere months ago, a multitude of protests sparked across the country, dissenting from President Trump’s handling of immigration and the manner in which the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducted their job.
On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for over 30 years, was killed by ICE agents in Texas for allegedly “weaponizing his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer.” The officer fired in “self-defense.”
On July 13, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian father, was shot and killed in Maine by an ICE officer with a history of violence. The shooting occurred during a search for what the Department of Homeland Security called “an illegal alien”. Guerrero was not the intended target.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told CBS News in May that ICE officers will be in attendance at World Cup games not solely for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws, but to “do our job.”
Mullin said, “We’re not there to go round up mass individuals, but we are always looking for the worst of the worst. We’re going to continue to do that.”
Although there have not been any reports of ICE agents arresting non-citizens at FIFA games, attendees still feel uneasy about their intimidating presence.
“I don’t see why you should involve politics with soccer,” said Gad Nkurunziza, a World Cup fan and lifetime soccer player. “Politics is politics. It’s outside of soccer. They [players] don’t control what the government is doing, what the country is doing; they’re just here to play. They’re here to represent a country and play ball.”
Donald Trump Interferes with USA Game, Insults Spain and Photobombs Spanish Team During Final
President Trump used his influence to overturn a red card given to USA player Folarin Balogun in the team’s July 1 game against Bosnia Herzegovina. Balogun fouled defender Tarik Muharemovic as both men raced for the ball. Having been served a red card, Balogun was ejected from the game and disallowed from playing in the next.
However, the day before USA’s game against Belgium, FIFA announced that Balogun would be eligible to play and his punishment would be dismissed. During a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump confirms that he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying, “Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I didn’t think it was a foul.”
Moments later, Trump goes on to say, “I didn’t know what the hell a red card was.”
Per tradition, President Donald Trump awarded the Spanish team their trophy. However, jarringly, a few days prior at a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump called Spain “bad people” and “a wasted cause.”
“I don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said. Although Trump was referring to his trade relationship with Spain, the irony of him denouncing the country only to award it with a championship trophy mere days later is difficult to ignore.
After awarding the winning team their trophy, Trump posed for pictures with the Spanish players, despite Infantino seemingly attempting to guide Trump out of the group shot, which many social media users found amusing.
In photos posted on the Spanish team’s official Instagram and X pages, Trump appears to be digitally removed from every picture, sparking the attention of many online viewers. The FIFA World Cup page on X also features an image where Trump is cut off.
Top Somalian Referee Denied Entrance into the United States and Forced to Return Home
The United States was expected to see an extreme surge in foreign soccer fans traveling to the country to enjoy the World Cup, with a predicted 1.2 million international visitors, according to CBS News.
FIFA Fan Festivals, located in several major cities across the country, are central hubs for soccer fans to enjoy the game, featuring musical performances, food, and culture, drawing crowds of at least 5.5 million people. The Atlanta location remains one of the most visited Fan Fests in the country, according to 11Alive.
However, that does not mean that the country and its representatives have been entirely welcoming to visitors. Both players and game officials have faced seemingly racially motivated challenges.
In early June, before the tournament began, the only Somali referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was denied entry into the country due to “vetting concerns,“ according to U.S. Border Patrol. Concurrently, Somalia is one of the seven countries on Trump’s travel ban list that went into effect on Jan. 1.
Artan, Africa’s top referee in 2025, was welcomed back home with open arms and dubbed a national hero in his home country. Though Artan maintained a positive attitude, many supporters began to protest his ban from the U.S. passionately, holding photographs of the officiant during their own soccer matches.
Many blame this on President Trump and his handling of immigrants, with Nkurunziza saying, “He [Trump] has a problem with the country, but he’s taking it out on the people, and that’s some bullshit. It was a great opportunity for him [Artan]. He was the best referee in Africa, and that was his chance to shine at the World Cup.”
Iranian National Team Forced to Tolerate ‘Special Rules’
Tensions from the ongoing war with Iran have seeped into the World Cup, with heavy travel restrictions imposed on the country’s soccer team by U.S. officials.
Unlike the other 47 teams, who were allowed two days to train and prepare at venues near where the match was being held, Iran was only allowed to enter the country within 24 hours of the match and was required to leave for their tournament base in Mexico the same day.
Bosco Hakuzimana, a Congo-born soccer coach of about six years, agrees that politics and soccer should be separate entities. He stated that it is absurd to expect Iran to play at its highest level when the team has extra travel and is not allotted sufficient time to warm up, train, or recover from games.
“I understand that there’s a lot of things happening in times of political issues,” he said, “but you cannot just deny someone’s rights, who earned the right to be able to do what they love to do.”
The Iranian team filed multiple complaints, claiming that they were at a disadvantage during the tournament. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei described his players as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup” after their match in Los Angeles.
“I’m just glad they’re done, and they’re not coming back,” Markwayne Mullin said after Iran was eliminated from the tournament. “I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the U.S. soil, and I might’ve sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance.”
Argentina ‘Cheating’ Rumors, Extreme Aggression and Bad Sportsmanship
Argentina, the previous World Cup champions, have once again advanced to the finals, but many soccer fans across the world and on the Internet believe that the team is participating in some form of cheating or favoritism by FIFA.
Soccer enthusiasts point specifically to the Egypt versus Argentina match in the Round of 16 where Argentina made a surprising comeback, winning the game 3-2. In a statement posted to Facebook, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) pointed to a misuse of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) as one of the reasons why the game was unfair.
The Egypt national team was furious when a goal by Mostafa Ziko was revoked after a VAR review, determining a foul against Argentina player Lisandro Martínez. In a later play, Egyptian athlete Hamdy Fathy was pulled to the ground by opposing player Alexis Mac Allister in the penalty zone. The referee refused to consult VAR or award a penalty after pleas from players, further fueling Egypt’s anger during the match.
“The result is far from the fair play that the federation, FIFA, talks about. Today, there was no respect and no fair play,” Hossam Hassan, the Egyptian team’s manager, said to reporters in a post-game interview. “So I am saying that this is an undeserved victory for Argentina.”
Argentina has also gotten flak for being extremely aggressive and violent throughout the tournament. During the final match against Spain, Argentina received six yellow cards and one red card, while Spain received none in either category. Argentina and Spain received 25 to 21 fouls, respectively. A compilation posted to social media shows just how belligerent the team was.
Argentinian player Enzo Fernández was removed from the game in second-half stoppage time for receiving his second yellow card (which culminated in a red card) for fouling Pau Cubarsí.
According to FIFA statistics, Argentina ranks highest as the team that committed the most fouls, at 113. The team also holds the most yellow cards (15) and has among the most red cards (2).
Steve McManaman, a former professional player for England, even criticized Argentina, saying, on an ESPN segment, “You can run, and you can be aggressive without going over the top all the time, without effectively cheating constantly, because that’s effectively what it is.”
An altercation broke out after the World Cup final between the Argentina and Spain players, with many calling Argentina sore losers. FIFA plans to investigate the brawl and dish out punishments appropriately.
