{"id":112660,"date":"2026-01-26T05:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112660"},"modified":"2026-01-26T05:53:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:53:48","slug":"2026-world-cup-german-fa-official-wants-boycott-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112660","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup: German FA official wants boycott talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A German Football Association (DFB) official has said it is time to consider a boycott of the 2026 World Cup in the wake of United States President Donald Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

The US will host world football\u2019s showpiece event this summer, along with Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

President Trump caused outrage among European leaders earlier this month by threatening to acquire Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark.<\/p>\n

The 79-year-old threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries \u2013 including Germany \u2013 who opposed his plan.<\/p>\n

Trump has since rowed back on that threat, but tensions between European leaders and the US government remain high.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this [a boycott] concretely,\u201d Oke Gottlich, a DFB vice-president, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that time has definitely come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 104 matches at this summer\u2019s World Cup, 78 will be held in the US.<\/p>\n

The French government said it is not currently in favour of a boycott, while the Danish Football Association said it is \u201caware of the current sensitive situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Denmark will aim to qualify for the tournament via play-offs.<\/p>\n

In making his argument, Gottlich referenced a US-led boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games following the Soviet Union\u2019s invasion of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?\u201d said Gottlich, who is also the president of Bundesliga club St Pauli.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Germany were involved in a row with Fifa at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when world football\u2019s governing body threatened players with a booking for wearing the OneLove armband during games.<\/p>\n

The captains of seven European nations were set to wear the armband to promote diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n

Instead, Fifa brought forward its own \u2018No Discrimination\u2019 campaign, which had been due to start from the quarter-finals, and captains were permitted to wear a No Discrimination armband for the duration of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Germany players covered their mouths during the team photograph before their World Cup opener against Japan \u201cto convey the message that Fifa is silencing\u201d teams, said the country\u2019s then-manager Hansi Flick.<\/p>\n

\u201cDenying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position,\u201d said DFB at the time.<\/p>\n

Gottlich added: \u201cQatar was too political for everyone and now we\u2019re completely apolitical? That\u2019s something that really, really, really bothers me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs organisations and society, we\u2019re forgetting how to set taboos and boundaries, and how to defend values.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaboos are an essential part of our stance. Is a taboo crossed when someone threatens? Is a taboo crossed when someone attacks? When people die?<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to know from Donald Trump when he has reached his taboo, and I would like to know from [DFB president] Bernd Neuendorf and [Fifa president] Gianni Infantino.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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