Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.
Blatter was the latest international soccer figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X that supported Mark Pieth's comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.
Pieth, a Swiss attorney specializing in white-collar crime and an anti-corruption expert, chaired the Independent Governance Committee's oversight of FIFA reform a decade ago. Blatter was president of the world's governing body for soccer from 1998-2015; he resigned amid an investigation into corruption.
In his interview with Der Bund, Pieth said, “If we consider everything we’ve discussed, there’s only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! You’ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t please the officials, they’ll be put straight on the next flight home. If they’re lucky.”
In his X post, Blatter quoted Pietha and added, “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.
The international soccer community's concerns about the United States stem from Trump's expansionist posture on Greenland, travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protestors in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.
Oke Göttlich, one of the vice presidents of the German soccer federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in an interview on Friday that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup.
Two weeks ago, travel plans for fans from two of the top soccer countries in Africa were thrown into disarray when the Trump administration announced a ban that would effectively bar people from Senegal and Ivory Coast from following their teams unless they already have visas. Trump cited “screening and vetting deficiencies” as the main reason for the suspensions.
Fans from Iran and Haiti, two other countries that have qualified for the World Cup, will be barred from entering the United States as well; they were included in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
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FILE - In this June 1, 2011, file photo, Sepp Blatter gestures during a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Beer cans, candles and blood-stained clothing littered a soccer field in central Mexico on Monday, a day after gunmen killed 11 people and injured 12 others during a gathering after an amateur match.
While authorities investigate the killings, Guanajuato state Gov. Libia Dennise García said Monday that “security in the region has been reinforced” with state and federal forces. She said on social media that the state “will act decisively to protect families, restore peace to the community and bring those responsible to justice.”
The massacre took place in the municipality of Salamanca, in the state with the highest number of homicides in the country. The region has been wracked by intense violence linked to the territorial dispute between the local Santa Rosa de Lima cartel — a violent group primarily dedicated to fuel theft and trafficking — and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, CJNG.
According to a federal official familiar with the case who requested anonymity because it is an ongoing investigation, initial evidence suggests that some of the deceased people were linked to a private security company associated with the CJNG. The official added that prior to the attack, messages attributed to the Santa Rosa cartel were found mentioning their dispute with Jalisco.
The attack comes a few months before the start of the FIFA World Cup, which Mexico is co-hosting with Canada and the United States, and as the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum not only seeks to highlight its progress in security, but is also promoting local soccer and its fan base as the “powerful tool for integral development” of the population, according to Mexican Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez.
Salamanca Mayor César Prieto — the only official to provide early details on Sunday — described the massacre as part of a “wave of violence” and appealed to Sheinbaum for help.
Nancy Angélica Canjura, researcher for Causa Común — a nongovernmental organization that analyzes data on insecurity — said that regardless of whether or not those killed were linked to criminal activity, the fact that the attack occurred in a public place and during a festive activity has a large social impact because it stays in the public consciousness that “you can't go out by choice … you shouldn't stay in public spaces.”
Canjura also mentioned that during 2025, Guanajuato was the scene of attacks at funerals, parties and other public activities and that all “dilutes the social fabric, limits life in the community” and allows criminal groups to have more power.
Sheinbaum didn't address the events in Salamanca during her news briefing on Monday, deferring to the local prosecutor’s office, which has only confirmed an ongoing investigation.
Security analyst David Saucedo, who was based in Guanajuato for many years, suggests the attack was likely by the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
According to Saucedo, the group may have wanted to provoke a federal military surge into territory currently held by its rivals, the Jalisco Cartel — a move he says “undermines the image of security Mexico hopes to project on the eve of the World Cup.”
The Jalisco cartel is the fastest-growing criminal organization in Mexico. It was declared a terrorist organization by the Trump administration, which also targeted the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Crime scene tape surrounds a soccer field the day after gunmen opened fire, killing and wounding people, in Salamanca, Mexico, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Armas)
National Guards patrol near a soccer field the day after gunmen opened fire, killing and wounding people, in Salamanca, Mexico, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Armas)
People's items left behind cover the ground at a soccer field the day after gunmen opened fire, killing and wounding people, in Salamanca, Mexico, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Armas)
Crime scene tape surrounds a soccer field the day after gunmen opened fire, killing and wounding people, in Salamanca, Mexico, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Armas)
