Fresh tweet controversy for Trump. This time it’s about football. FIFA reacts.

The US President Donald Trump’s fascination and ease to use twitter landed him a new controversy and a reprimand from football’s governing body FIFA.

FIFA told Donald Trump to refer to guidelines that warn against political influence over bids, as the US President tweeted support for a U.S. bid to co-host the 2026 soccer World Cup with a veiled threat against nations that might oppose it.

Trump’s Tweet said:

The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?

Morocco is the only rival to a joint bid to stage the event from the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the FIFA Congress due to choose the hosts in Moscow on June 13.

FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, has a rule that explicitly prohibits “any form of political interference”. In the past a number of countries have been suspended from international competition for violating the rule. FIFA wants the federations operating independently. But it has been known to inconsistently and selectively enforce the rule.

FIFA’s reply was “As a general rule, we cannot comment on specific statements in connection with the bidding process. We can only refer to the FIFA Regulations for the selection of the venue for the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and in particular to the Bid Rules of Conduct incorporated therein.”

Source : FIFA, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, Guardian