US President Donald Trump's plan to establish control over Greenland has sparked a strong reaction in German political circles. Jürgen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and a close confidant of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, did not rule out the possibility of boycotting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is to be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. This was reported by Welt, writes UNN.
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Hardt stated that a boycott of the tournament could be an "extreme measure" to force the Trump administration to abandon its claims to Danish territory.
We understand how important this World Cup is to Trump
Tensions escalated after the US military intervention in Venezuela, which heightened European fears about the reality of Trump's threats to use force to annex the strategic island.
White House and NATO reaction
Despite the arrival of European reinforcements in Greenland to support Denmark, Washington remains steadfast.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt noted that the presence of NATO soldiers would not change the president's goal of acquiring the island. The EU fears that unilateral US actions could lead to the collapse of the North Atlantic Alliance and the destruction of the post-war security order.
Criticism of FIFA leadership
Meanwhile, former UEFA president Michel Platini sharply criticized current FIFA head Gianni Infantino in an interview with "The Guardian." Platini accused his former deputy of excessive loyalty to "the rich and powerful" and called his management style authoritarian.
Unfortunately, after the pandemic, Infantino is increasingly becoming an autocrat. He lost the game. Now there is less democracy in FIFA than during Blatter's time
The criticism also concerns FIFA's decision to award Donald Trump a new "Peace Prize," which many see as political pandering to the American leader amid his aggressive foreign policy.