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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Several politicians in Europe have suggested their countries boycott the FIFA World Cup 2026 due to President Donald J. Trump’s Greenland policy.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: European politicians, Donald Trump, and FIFA.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Recent days, internationally.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I wonder whether we should call for a boycott of the 2026 World Cup… given Donald Trump’s behaviour towards the continent, with a FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, who prides himself on being at his side.” – Former French soccer manager Claude Le Roy.
🎯IMPACT: The calls do not seem to be gaining much traction, with France publicly stating it has no intention to boycott the event.
IN FULL
Several politicians in Europe have publicly raised the idea of a boycott of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is being hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, in response to escalating tensions over President Donald J. Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, a largely autonomous Danish territory.
In France, left-wing lawmaker Éric Coquerel said the question of a boycott should be examined if Trump’s policies continue to escalate. On social media, he wrote, “Seriously, can we really imagine going to play the World Cup in a country that attacks its neighbours, threatens to invade Greenland, undermines international law…”
French veteran coach Claude Le Roy went further, saying, “I wonder whether we should call for a boycott of the 2026 World Cup… given Donald Trump’s behaviour towards the continent, with a FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, who prides himself on being at his side.”
In Germany, a member of the ruling, notionally center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Jürgen Hardt, who serves as a foreign policy spokesman, described a boycott as something that could be considered. Speaking to German press, Hardt said a boycott might serve “as a last resort in order to get [President Donald] Trump to see sense on the Greenland issue.” He stressed that the German Football Federation would make the actual decision, however.
In Britain, some lawmakers have also mentioned the idea. Simon Hoarea, Member of Parliament (MP) for the formerly governing Conservative Party, suggested during a debate that a boycott could be a response to Trump’s Arctic policy, while Luke Taylor of the Liberal Democrats said such a move could signal that “the only thing [Trump] responds to is his own pride.”
Former Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Hannah Kennedy-Bardell drew controversy by urging that Scotland consider a boycott in protest, describing the idea of using sport as a tool against Trump as “radical action.” This would likely be highly unpopular in Scotland, which last qualified for a World Cup in 1998.
Some politicians seem more reluctant to pursue a boycott; however, France’s sports minister, Marina Ferrari, said her country has “no desire” to do so and stressed the importance of keeping sport separate from politics.
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