Sepp Blatter warns fans to stay away from Fifa World Cup in the USA
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth have urged fans to boycott the upcoming World Cup in the USA and Mexico due to concerns over domestic incidents. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Image: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has warned fans to stay away from the upcoming World Cup in the USA and Mexico starting in June.
This comes after Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth urged fans to boycott matches in the USA due to domestic incidents involving immigration services.
Pieth was reacting specifically to the death earlier this month of US citizen Renee Good after a federal immigration officer shot and killed the unarmed mother who was acting as a legal observer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minneapolis.
Blatter took to X to share his views.
Blatter and Pieth Warn Fans Against Attending the USA World Cup
“For the fans, there’s only one piece of advice: stay away from the USA!”
“I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
By Tuesday, the post by Blatter had nearly 350k views.
Last week, Pieth said in an interview with Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger: “What we are seeing domestically – the marginalisation of political opponents, abuses by immigration services, etc. – hardly encourages fans to go there.”
“For fans, just one piece of advice: avoid the United States! You’ll get a better view on television anyway. Upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t behave properly with the authorities, they will be immediately sent home. If they’re lucky …”
The last line seemed to suggest that Pieth believed fans could easily find themselves in physical danger for the slightest transgression at the World Cup.
Blatter served as Fifa president from 1998 to 2015 until he was involved in a corruption scandal and promptly resigned. Last year, however, Blatter and Uefa chief Michel Platini were acquitted in their linked corruption case.