U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino (second from left) congratulate Lamine Yamal of Spain as they present him with the winners medal on Sunday. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Donald Trump was booed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
The president took the stage at MetLife Stadium (which was referred to as New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament), located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to present the trophy to tournament champion Spain after the team defeated Argentina in extra time by a score of 1-0.
As the two men walked out onto the field, boos could be heard coming from the crowd.
On July 6, Trump confirmed that he’d personally intervened to help overturn a suspension for one of U.S. soccer’s star players, striker Folarin Balogun, following a controversial red card against him. Trump said he called Infantino, leading FIFA to suspend the red card decision, thus allowing Balogun to compete in the Round 16 game against Belgium. (The U.S. went on to lose that match by a score of 4-1.)
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The reaction against the move was a mixture of anger and disappointment, particularly among Belgians, as one might expect.
The reversal was said to be unprecedented: According to The New York Times, this marked the first time FIFA had reversed a red card since 1962.
Trump arrived at the stadium on Sunday in Marine One. The helicopter flew over the stadium about 45 minutes before kickoff. He watched the match from a VIP section behind glass with Infantino.
Also sitting nearly were Spain’s king, Felipe VI; Canadian prime minister Mark Carney; and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.
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