The former Fifa president backed a Swiss lawyer who called for a boycott of the tournament due to security concerns in the US

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Monday suggested he supports fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States this year due to security concerns.

Blatter gave his support to comments from Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth, who worked with Fifa on potential reforms when Blatter was president, saying fans should stay away from the US for the tournament.

“I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup,” Blatter said on social media.

Pieth cited the killing of protester Renee Good by an American immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier this month as one reason for supporters not to travel to the US. Blatter’s endorsement of Pieth’s comments comes in the wake of the death of a second US citizen, Alex Pretti, last weekend.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
    49·
    10 days ago

    The World Cup is happening in my city, and today, I’m seeing stories about ICE pulling cars over and arresting people indiscrimately.

    Do not come to Kansas City.

    • Kjell@lemmy.worldEnglish
      13·
      10 days ago

      We thought Blatter was the worst possible Fifa president we could have. And then we got Infantino.

  • wuffah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16·
    10 days ago

    If they’re murdering white US citizens in the street for demonstrating and resisting illegal arrest, imagine what they would do to brown tourists.

  • jj4211@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    10 days ago

    I have a number of colleagues in Europe that normally I occasionally see. Since ICE ramped up last year, none of them have set foot on American soil at all. No one wants to risk even legally being in this mess.

  • baatliwala@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    10 days ago

    Sepp Blatter was corrupt but he genuinely was in for the love of the game. Infantino is even worse.

    • ragas@lemmy.mlEnglish
      10·
      10 days ago

      Meh, its easy to say the right thing when your billions of dollars don’t depend on it any more.

      • baatliwala@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        10 days ago

        No I mean he also really wanted to promote football across cultures and invest into poor nations to grow the sport. FWIW he was insanely corrupt but also somehow an improvement on Havelange.

        For Infantino that is more of a side to the side quest. He has done absolutely nothing for football.

    • ragas@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      10 days ago

      Of course! He already got his golden parachute. Nobody cares what he says any more.

  • zd9@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    10 days ago

    Man, this summer is going to be HOT. More people come out to protest when it’s warm + tons and tons of foreign nationals for the World Cup + lead up to midterms = crazy shit. This summer is going to be history, not in a good way.

  • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
    5·
    10 days ago

    Every country is cleaning their streets off homeless people before a world cup or olympic games. The US is just a bit more generous with their definition of homelessness. Everything will be fine when the tourists arrive.

    /s

  • FreshParsnip@lemmy.caEnglish
    4·
    10 days ago

    A part of me thinks absolutely nothing will happen at the world cup and the nazis will relax their usual terror tactics just because it’s the world cup. A part of me thinks the world cup will be a shitshiw with fans and players being arrested or killed in the middle of, or before and after, games