World Cup: Chaos, capitalism rules what should be just for the people

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In March 2025, Peter Montopoli, chief tournament officer of Canada’s 2026 World Cup committee, and Victor Montagliani, FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president, swept into town to promote this year’s tournament.

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At the time, the U.S.-Canada trade war had begun to boil over, travel bans were being imposed liberally on dozens of countries by the U.S., it seemed like stories of unjust ICE incarcerations were reported almost daily, and there were — predictably — questions for the two soccer executives about how it would impact the World Cup.

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It was a nuanced situation, said Montagliani, and he had no concerns that these issues would impact the tournament.

“We have that concern in every World Cup we put on,” he said. “It’s just the nature of our business. When we put on events, whether it’s a FIFA or CONCACAF … you always have to deal with administrations that maybe are not your political stripes or they take more of a political angle. You just have to deal with it.”

Fast forward to Wednesday, when FIFA president Gianni Infantino sat down to face media in Mexico City, on the eve of the tournament’s opening games. He was, all at once, beleaguered, defensive and hopeful.

It was 24 hours after headlines began flooding the news cycle that Omar Abdulkadir Artan, the 2025 African referee of the year, was denied entry into the U.S. despite holding the proper visas and documentation. Border officials claimed he had links to alleged terror groups.

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“What happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia … we don’t control everything,” Infantino said. “Maybe sometimes it’s good as well to just chill, relax. Unfortunately, our world is a very aggressive world, and security goes above everything, and you need to respect the decisions which are taken.”

Artan’s ban was just the most recent example, and certainly one of the highest profile, of the visa issues. Scores of fans, media and team officials have been denied entry into the U.S., and a rehauled visa application has become more onerous — and expensive.

Meanwhile, ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict continues to fester, making this World Cup the first time two participating teams have been actively shooting at each other. Iran’s base camp was moved to Mexico for safety concerns, but tensions continue to be high. The Iranian team are wearing gold-coloured “168” lapel pins, a tribute to the victims killed in a Feb. 28 missile strike on a school in Iran, though the U.S. continues to deny it targeted the school deliberately.

Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey have launched an investigation into predatory ticket pricing practices, issuing subpoenas to FIFA staff.

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It was against this backdrop that Infantino held court on Wednesday.

“Today I hope we can also speak a little bit about football, because that’s what we are here about, right?” he asked hopefully, before listing three things he knew were going be in the spotlight: Iran, visas, and ticket prices.

At one point, Infantino was asked if he was embarrassed that he’d lost control of his tournament, or if he had second thoughts about getting into bed with the U.S. to host the tournament.

“I don’t regret anything,” he said.

The World Cups in Russia and Qatar were bought with bribes that paved over the problematic politics and human rights concerns in those countries. In the U.S., it just needed hastily invented Peace Prize, a club World Cup trophy and leasing out an empty office in Trump Tower for a year to get off the ground.

The events of the past few months in the U.S. have even accomplished something remarkable: Turning Iran, a country with a government accused of killing up to 36,000 protesters in January, into a sympathetic figure.

FIFA is rapidly turning into the villain of the story.

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The exorbitant ticket prices were explained first by saying they were cheaper than those for the American playoff sports, then how the legal issues in New York will be exonerated as perfectly legal dynamic pricing practices, and then, finally, how the ticket revenue funds soccer development in small, impoverished member nations.

“We checked what we do with the best lawyers, with the best experts. If we’re do something wrong, then probably everyone selling tickets in North America is doing something wrong as well,” Infantino said, closer to the mark than he realized.

Visa issues were dismissed as a product of the U.S. protocols over which FIFA has no control. “We need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces,” Infantino said, somewhat reasonably, although local small business owners might take umbrage at that claim.

Iran’s participation was, quite rightly, declared a victory, as getting the team to participate with the agreement of both the U.S. and Iranian governments was a difficult accomplishment.

But the venerable Ian Wright, a measured and level-headed voice among soccer media, summed it up in a social video posted Tuesday: “This is a World Cup of chaos.”

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“Every few hours, it’s another story. Another story about fans denied, players denied, officials denied, journalists denied. Now refs? I’m laughing, but it’s not funny,” said the Premier League legend. “Expensive tickets — (the) most expensive tickets ever. Expensive accommodation, transport through the roof. Is this how the hosts behave, really? For the greatest game, the greatest tournament in the world, is this how the hosts behave?

“Is this the spirit of football, really? You know who I feel for? I feel for the American fans who are desperate for this. How embarrassed they must be. How embarrassing for them this must be. This is the World Cup. Whoever wins this World Cup is going to have to go through some serious, serious chaos to get this done.”

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