A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup

This week, a prominent German soccer official, Oke Göttlich, said the time had come to consider the unthinkable: a boycott of the World Cup to protest Donald J. Trump’s United States. The world’s most-watched sporting event is set to take place this year in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Göttlich said in an interview on Friday: Before federal agent murdered Alex Pretti, a nurse from Minneapolis, Virginia, that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss.” Göttlich was responding not only to state agents roaming the streets of the United States, but also to Trump’s military threats against Greenland and the people of Europe, which have shattered old alliances. Specious as these alliances may be, the alternative proposed by Trump is a new world order of unchecked American aggression, in which the macabre Stephen Miller feels free to call for occupation and bloodshed.

Göttlich is not a lightweight. He is one of the 10 vice-presidents of the German federation and president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli. People may know St. Pauli as a proudly left-wing and openly anti-fascist team whose supporters generally align with what Göttlich proposes, even if the call for a boycott goes beyond what any power in European football has done. This shifts the “Overton Window” as to where this discussion could go. Göttlich was asked by a journalist about the St. Pauli players on the German national team and whether he felt he was undermining their personal and national ambitions. Göttlich responded: “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the host country of the World Cup. What were the justifications for boycotting the Olympic Games in the 1980s? In my opinion, the potential threat is greater today than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”

It’s actually high time we had this discussion. Ten long months ago, I wrote an article with Jules Boykoff titled “With ICE out of control, how can the United States co-host the 2026 World Cup?” » This was a call for a boycott of countries other than the United States. Little did we know at the time that the United States would threaten war on European soil, kidnap world leaders, drive fishermen from the ocean, kidnap five-year-old children, and execute American citizens in the streets. And yet, even ten months ago, in the wake of the ICE kidnappings of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk and revelations that the United States was sending people to labor camps in El Salvador, it was clear that this country would move toward fascist violence.

Our argument was that countries were being profoundly irresponsible in failing to warn their citizens that traveling to the United States would be perilous and not just for them: players, coaches and their families would all be at risk. Today, even former FIFA president, that monument to corruption Sepp Blatter, says it could be dangerous for fans to travel to the United States. But Göttlich is taking it to the next level by challenging nations to stay at home. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, saw its chief, Gianni Infantino, adopt a weak and hunched posture in Trump’s presence. During Trump’s second term, Infantino visited the White House more than any foreign leader and presented Trump with this FIFA Peace Prize. Infantino may feel like a world leader when he is presented by Trump as a hairless poodle, but his submission to Trump has created an opportunity for Göttlich to be a real leader.

“As organizations and a society, we forget how to set taboos and boundaries, and how to defend values,” Göttlich said. “Taboos are an essential part of our position. Is a taboo crossed when someone threatens? Is a taboo crossed when someone attacks? When people die? I would like to know from Donald Trump when he reached his taboo, and I would like to know from Donald Trump when he reached his taboo, and I would like to know from [German soccer chief] Bernd Neuendorf and Gianni Infantino.

While Göttlich cited Moscow’s 1980 Olympic boycott following the invasion of Afghanistan, a much better historical comparison comes from his home turf: the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Hitler used those games to normalize his Nazi regime and project himself as a leader among world leaders. We can, of course, look back on those Olympics and rejoice in classic sporting moments, like Jesse Owens winning four gold medals and ruining Hitler’s dreams of Aryan supremacy.

But the deeper story of these games is the countries’ shameful decision to travel to Berlin to play primarily for the entertainment of their fascist hosts. This is not hindsight. Explosive debates have taken place around the world, notably in the United States, about competition in a Germany that already imprisons dissidents and Jews, burns books and builds a military arsenal for territorial expansion. Organizations like the NAACP campaigned for an American boycott. The Amateur Athletic Union, by a small number of votes, ignored their calls as well as the arguments of others and sent American athletes to compete. These decisions now seem obscene. Göttlich offers countries a way to avoid being portrayed as cowards, collaborators or villains in the eyes of history. Countries should boycott World Cup matches scheduled in the United States. Ten months ago, they had to do this for the safety of their own fans. Now they must act to keep us all safe.

One final note: I went to college in the Twin Cities. I still have a lot of friends in the area. My anger at seeing Trump send killers to fill the streets of Minneapolis is personal, but the people there courageously showed that such state violence would provoke a response. Minnesotans are not Gianni Infantino. Their backs are not bent, and if you ask them to kiss Trump’s ring, they will bite that finger to the bone.