Trump Steals Soccer Champions’ Spotlight, Gets Booed by Fans

When English soccer team Chelsea lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy on Sunday in New Jersey, its star who scored twice in the 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain and was named player of the tournament was blocked from view.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Cole Palmer looked perplexed and frustrated as Donald Trump stood in front of him, smiling and clapping, even as FIFA President Gianni Infantino could be seen unsuccessfully urging the U.S. President to move aside so as not to obstruct the team’s celebrations.

“I was a bit confused,” Palmer later said. “I knew he was going to be there, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand where we lifted the trophy.”

During the awkward moment, Chelsea captain Reece James appeared to ask Trump, “Are you going to leave?” Later, in response to a reporter’s question, James said of the President’s presence at the match, “It probably highlights how big the tournament is,” though he noted he didn’t expect Trump to remain front-and-center. “Before they told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage. I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.”

Infantino eventually walked Trump to the back of the group, so Palmer and others could enjoy the spotlight, but not before the White House and President got the photo-ops they wanted.

Trump booed as tournament highlights controversies

Trump’s presence at MetLife Stadium was meant to mark as much a celebration for the U.S. as it was for the sport, with the club tournament final taking place at the same venue where the FIFA World Cup final is set to take place in 2026.

But Chelsea and PSG fans seemed to set aside their rivalries and unite around their dislike of Trump, booing him on several occasions throughout the evening, including when he was shown on the Jumbotron during the U.S. national anthem before the match and during the trophy presentation after.

Trump, who is largely unpopular in the U.S. and globally, and Infantino, who took over FIFA in 2016 as it was already marred by corruption scandals and has since been accused of disregarding human-rights concerns, have linked arms over the years to try to bring soccer to the U.S.

A replica of the World Cup trophy was spotted in Trump’s Oval Office as early as 2018, the year that Infantino announced the U.S. would co-host the 2026 international tournament alongside neighbors Canada and Mexico. The Club World Cup trophy also spent some time on the President’s desk earlier this year after Infantino presented it to Trump in March The gold, NASA-inspired trophy could be seen in the background of major announcements, “from nuclear warnings to Iran to celebrating the trade deal with Britain,” according to Sky News. Infantino announced last week that FIFA opened an office in Trump Tower in New York City.

The Club World Cup, which was awarded to the U.S. in 2023, was seen by many as a dress-rehearsal for the World Cup next year, and while Infantino hyped it as a “huge, huge, huge success,” many have disagreed. The club tournament, which was significantly revamped from earlier editions, was largely overshadowed by concerns about commercial interests being prioritized over players’ health and fans’ experience.  “We may have received some justified criticism,” Infantino acknowledged at a press conference on Saturday. “There are many elements we can think about, but that will be for later on.”

Trump announced in March the formation of a federal task force to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, but it hasn’t quelled concerns from many around the world, particularly around heat, safety, and tightened travel restrictions to the U.S.

Asked in March about tensions even between the North American co-hosts of next year’s tournament, Trump dismissed concerns, saying, “Tensions are a good thing. It’ll make it more exciting.”

Trump embraces “football” in the U.S.

While many U.S. conservatives have long disliked soccer, Trump has been known to embrace the sport. Right-wing media outlet the Washington Free Beacon published a “bombshell” report in 2016 that revealed the then-candidate for the Republican nomination for President had played soccer in high school.

“Most patriotic Americans stop playing soccer at around age nine, because it’s lame and rewards weakness. It’s also very popular in Mexico,” the Free Beacon explained. “Soccer games are typically low scoring affairs and, unlike the vast majority of actual sports contests, are permitted to end in a tie. They often do. Free shots on goals are routinely awarded to players who fall down theatrically. Most of the fancy men on the field are not allowed to use their hands, a very important and capable body part. International play is modeled after Barack Obama’s global vision, in which the United States is ‘just another country’ and is happy to secure a zero-zero tie against Togo. The men’s national team has been invaded by foreigners. These are a few of the reasons why soccer is fundamentally un-American.”

But despite many American conservatives’ antipathy, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in the sport, which he says his son Barron is very enthusiastic about. “It’s exciting. My son loves soccer, and he loves watching the World Cup,” Trump said in 2018. “It’s exciting even if you’re a non-soccer fan. I’m a soccer fan a little bit, but I don’t have much time.”

When asked by a reporter on Sunday after the Club World Cup match if he would consider renaming soccer in the U.S. as “football,” which is what the popular sport is called in most other countries but which is also what Americans call the game that Trump has labeled “boring,” the U.S. President responded: “I think we could do that.” 

Other Administration officials also come under fire

Trump was not the only figure to come under fire over the weekend.

At the match on Sunday, he and Infantino were joined in the midfield luxury box by several Administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been criticized by many, including prominent right-wing backers of Trump, over her handling of the case surrounding convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, whose 2019 death spawned conspiracy theories that Bondi’s Justice Department attempted to dispel last week.

Trump defended Bondi amid calls for her resignation or firing in a post on Truth Social on Saturday in which he appeared to contradict the Justice Department’s memo that said there were no further files on Epstein to be released. “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration … They created the Epstein Files,” Trump wrote. “LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT! … Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

Elsewhere, Vice President J.D. Vance was also greeted with shouts and boos by protesters as he and his family vacationed at Disneyland in California.“Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X—referring to the Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign, including an ongoing militarized crackdown in California—to which Vance responded: “Had a great time, thanks.”