Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says fans should avoid going to USA The 2026 World Cup this summer.

Blatt’s reasoning? he believes in the president Donald TrumpInternational aggression and immigration crackdowns across the country put fans traveling abroad at risk.

Blatter cited anti-corruption expert and law professor Mark Pieth, who oversaw the independent governance committee during FIFA’s 2013-16 reforms. Peter was interviewed by Swiss media federal governmenthe told fans to “stay away from America!”

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter makes a gesture during a press conference at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, March 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anya Niedringhaus)

“Only one advice for fans: Stay away from the US! “I think Mark Peace is right to question this World Cup,” Blatter, 89, wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Peace added in the interview: “You will see better conditions on TV anyway. Upon arrival, fans should expect that if they do not satisfy the officials they will be put straight on the next flight home. If they are lucky.”

The United States will co-host this year’s World Cup Mexico The tournament will be held in Canada and Canada from June 11 to July 19. However, after the top 16, all remaining games will be held in the United States

Trump’s stance on Greenland led DFB executive Ok Gottlich to call for a boycott of this summer’s World Cup.

“I really want to know when this issue will be concretely thought about and discussed,” Gottlich told the Hamburg Morning Post about a potential boycott. “For me, that moment has arrived.”

Trump recently said he had discussed a “future agreement framework” with NATO involving Greenland and the Arctic, which could ease tensions in that area.

From left; FIFA President Gianni Infantino poses with President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the 2026 Football World Cup draw ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

“Based on my productive meetings with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, we have developed a framework for a future agreement on Greenland and the entire Arctic,” Trump said. Written in the Truth Society.

ICE agents in cities across the U.S., particularly Minneapolis, Minnesota, have also come under criticism after the deaths of two U.S. citizens as the immigration crackdown continued.

Pease also discussed this factor in the interview.

“The country itself is in great turmoil,” he said. “What we’re seeing at home — the marginalization of political opponents, mistreatment by immigration authorities, etc. — doesn’t exactly entice fans to travel there.

Pease likened the “security situation” in the United States to that in Mexico, where drug cartels have threatened violence ahead of games in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Pease believes the United States has become “increasingly authoritarian.”

U.S. President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA via Getty Images)

Notably, Blatter was forced to resign as FIFA president in 2015 amid one of the biggest corruption scandals in sports involving wire fraud, extortion and money laundering.

Blatter was replaced by Gianni Infantino, who has a close friendship with Trump.

The U.S. State Department also revealed exclusively to Fox News Digital that it will launch the FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS), which will give World Cup ticket holders the opportunity to obtain priority visa appointments before the World Cup starts on June 11.

Prospective visa holders must be able to demonstrate that they qualify for Get a visa And plans to abide by U.S. laws and plan to leave the country after the game ends on July 19.

Trump said of FIFA passes in November that the Departments of State and Homeland Security have been working “tirelessly” to “make sure fans from around the world are properly vetted and able to come to the United States easily next summer.”

In this Sept. 1, 2020, file photo, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter (center) appears in front of the Swiss Attorney General’s Office building in Bern, Switzerland. Former FIFA president Blatter was in a coma for a week after undergoing heart surgery in December, his family said on Thursday, January 21, 2021. (Peter Schneider/Keystone)

Trump said at the time: “I have directed my administration to do everything we can to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success. I think it will be the greatest ever and we are setting ticket sales records.”

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Infantino said the organization expects “between 5 and 10 million people from around the world to come to the United States to watch the World Cup.”

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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