r/worldnews • u/EnoughErotics • 5h ago
Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/26/sepp-blatter-suggests-fans-should-not-travel-to-us-for-world-cup1.8k
u/wolftick 5h ago
The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point
...Actually no, Infantino is even worse.
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u/Heisenberg_235 5h ago
Donāt know how itās possible to be worse than Blatter but Infantino has delivered
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u/DieFichte 3h ago
I feel like Blatter is old school corrupt, football is a lot of money, so there will be bribes all over the place and whatever. I don't agree with Blatter or Platini on anything, but I can atleast understand why, because a lot of money.
Infantino is like "what the fuck is wrong with you?" kinda corrupt.25
u/Pontus_Pilates 2h ago
I feel like Blatter's blatant corruption at least revolved around football, not trying to be some middle-man for dictators.
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u/DieFichte 2h ago
Yeah I actually don't know what Infantino is up to, maybe he just likes to blow autocrats, weird kink, but atleast that would make some sense, though Trump might get jealous.
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u/LifeAtSea2213 1h ago
The most infuriating thing about Infantino is how self-righteous he is. Like with his infamous "today I feel" speech. Like if you're going to be corrupt, just fucking do it. Don't try to convince us that you're some great guy. Truly the actions of a narcissist.
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u/Indercarnive 1h ago
I feel like old corruption still had some set of personal morals even if they weren't ethical. Like they still had lines in the sand and a sense of self-dignity.
New leaders seem like actual human shaped robots with the only goal programmed into them is making more money at any cost. Like they'd either lick your toes or murder your grandma for an extra $5 and they don't particularly care which.
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u/Nopengnogain 4h ago
That was a plot twist I did not see coming when FBI of all people crushed the previously corrupt FIFA administration.
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u/me_like_stonk 3h ago
Blatter is just sorry he's not around anymore to bask in the glorious FIFA corruption.
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u/GeraldJimes_ 4h ago
This is 100% blatter dunking on Infantino because he knows he somehow is going to end up looking like he wasn't as bad lmao
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u/oatmeal-claypole 4h ago
its not even just a symbolic protest. If you are a black/brown tourist going to cities where world cup games are being played, there is a genuine chance of running into ICE and all it takes is a misunderstanding or two before you're thrown into a detention centre.
a US world cup vacation is expensive, I see no reason to spend money and take additional risk. I would just go to mexico or canada
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u/AlmostCorrectInfo 4h ago
Aside from his innumerable financial crimes, I still find the most insane thing he's done was to tell Megan Rapinoe (iirc) something to the effect of: "I have an idea to increase viewership of women's soccer. You all should wear smaller, tighter uniforms."
Yeesh.
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u/Ange_the_Avian 5h ago
When Sepp Blatter is on the moral high ground for an issue, you know you're in the wrong.
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u/Primarycore 5h ago
When Sepp Blatter has the moral high ground, you have been sucked into a black hole and the universe is imploding. This goes against the laws of physics. Cue money rain on stage.
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u/AIverson3 4h ago
Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president two weeks before Trump announced his campaign for POTUS. Crazy to see how much things have changed (for the worse) since then. Standards have fallen through the floor.
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u/sickofthisshit 5h ago
Eh, isn't it more "Trump hasn't bribed me to say something different"?
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u/ILikeSaintJoseph 4h ago
Itās "the FBI ousted me for being corrupt so Infantino got my seat and gave the WC to the USA"
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u/Strange-Spot-3306 4h ago
When Sepp Blatter is on the moral high ground it means that there isn't a financial incentive for him to be a terrible human being anymore.
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u/rcanhestro 4h ago
Sepp Blatter was just as corrupt as Infantino, but at least he did felt like he gave a shit about the game.
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u/neveks 3h ago
He wasn't, not by a long shot. He was against the Qatar WC because it looked way too corrupt and Infantino 100% embraced that one.
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u/SanctusUnum 3h ago
"The problem is the lack of subtlety." - Sepp Blatter
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u/neveks 3h ago
Blatter at least was honestly corrupt and accepted the brown envelopes in some secret meetings, now they just do it out in the open and boast about it.
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u/0xe1e10d68 2h ago
To put it in the same words a German newspaper chose: Sepp Blatter at least felt shame.
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u/vikmaychib 4h ago
Nope, it is just that he did not see any of the bribe money Infantino got. He is just salty
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u/JohnSane 5h ago
Probably more effective for him to ask the teams that. No Teams = no viewers.
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u/martxel93 5h ago
Good luck getting the corrupt federations or the greedy players to boycott something thatāll make them money.
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u/Kagariii 4h ago
the players of big footballing nations get peanuts for playing for their country compared to their club salary, it's more of a pride thing for them. The federations would never dream of boycotting the world cup though, it's where all their money comes from.
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u/DanGleeballs 4h ago
Germany are considering it.
And Iām sure there are individual football players who would like to, or may refuse to go.
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u/SophisticatedVagrant 4h ago
Germany are considering it.
Not in the slightest. Yesterday, the president of St. Pauli suggested it, but St. Pauli is famously linked with left-wing politics, so it is on brand for him, but he does not represent the greater "mood" in the DFB at all right now.
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u/Tunir007 4h ago
Every football player literally dreams to just step on the field of a fifa world cup game field. Itās really hard to just give up on the one thing you have been training your whole life for, especially for an orange gimmick president. Especially when for a lot of these players, the opportunity may never come again because of the 4 year gap between world cups. Really tough situation to be a player rn. Itās your whole lifeās work vs standing up for the right thing.
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u/Polygnom 4h ago
"Germany are considering it."
Source?
I haven't heard so much as a whisper.
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u/Uberzwerg 4h ago
Afaik speaker for ONE top-league club (St.Pauli) spoke out for it.
But that club is rather famous for being heavily left-leaning.
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u/VagueSomething 5h ago
Finally found a line Sepp thinks is too far for corruption. Truly impressive. Americans might not understand how serious things have to be for Sepp to become morally concerned but it would be like Epstein saying a girl is too young.
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u/ScoobiusMaximus 4h ago
He wouldn't have ever said this when he was in charge of FIFA. He's saying this because it's no longer his problem and maybe it makes his decisions to have cups in Russia and Qatar look better by comparisonĀ
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u/LordJebusVII 5h ago
Good time to have a holiday in Canada or Mexico though, support our allies and spread some positive vibes
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u/naked_hypocrisy 4h ago
but don't go to any of the FIFA games anyway.
not because of US, but because of FIFA
there's lots to enjoy in those countries that isn't so corrupt
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u/AwkwardChuckle 3h ago
Ehhhhh. As a Vancouverite, Iād still say skip them.
Our mayor, Ken Sim has been an absolute ass-hat the past 2 years, and the cities set to lay off over 400 staff members pre-FIFA and cut everyone operating budgets while city services and infrastructure crumble apart due to lack of funding.
We DONT deserve to have FIFA here with whatās happening in this city.
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u/MssDare 5h ago
The US is one of the least appealing countries to travel to right now. Why would anyone want travel to fascist country. Sympathy goes out to those who didnāt vote for this.
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u/solapelsin 5h ago edited 5h ago
To those who voted for anything but this. I donāt have much sympathy for the people who didnāt care enough either way to even turn up during the elections
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u/jennlyon950 4h ago
I didn't vote for this.
I voted against this.
I volunteered, I knocked on doors, I did everything I could and I wasn't alone. We tried, we tried like hell because we knew what was coming.
The problem is with the way our voting system works. Until that is changed, and there is at least one solution I would be behind 100%, we will continue to be in this same vicious cycle.
The electoral college needs to be thrown out the window. Many people don't vote because where they live that choice has already been made. Once that is changed, then we can have elections that actually represent the people.
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u/WingerRules 3h ago
All of this is happening because the US system counts people in cities and larger states as fractions of a person compared to rural people, where Trump and far right Republicans get their support. 38 million people get 44 votes in the Senate while another 38 million get 2, simply because of where they live. They also win the Presidency while getting less votes. With that kind of imbalance Republicans have no need to moderate or appeal to the center because they can hold control with less votes.
Nordic states, which have the highest living standards in the world, dominate freedom indexes, and are the lowest on government corruption indexes, are nearly all proportional representation systems where this shit doesnt happen. The outlier in voting is Finland but even there they're considered only a slight malapportionment system.
The Senate places all judges, military generals & officers and promotions, heads of agencies & agency officers and is also critical for investigations and impeachment to pass. The "points" for electing the president also favors rural areas, with Trump getting placed in office the first time while getting millions of less votes. Its also led to a Supreme Court being permanently super majority controlled by Republicans even though they have less registered voters.
And before anyone says that's what we agreed to, no we didnt. No one alive today agreed to this system of disenfranchisement, we were born into it. The people who support it by and large support it because they love that it makes them effectively counted as superior citizens over everyone else.
The disenfranchisement of people in cities is so great it's led to Republicans being actively malicious towards them with no worry of political repercussions, even though the vast majority of the population lives in cities. Republicans actively work to cut funding to blue states and cities even though they already put more into the system than they get back, block disaster aid, and are now taking over police forces and placing military in cities.
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u/solapelsin 4h ago
I am sorry. I agree with you fully. Thank you for trying, youāre a hero. And thank you for voting
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u/jennlyon950 3h ago
I appreciate your reply. However hero is a word I do not feel comfortable with in this situation.
American (as embarrassing as that is in these times) is more appropriate.
There are soooo many of us who don't even want to watch the news. We don't want to see how we are being represented. And as difficult as it is for me, every day there are more people who voted for the current administration wishing to retract their vote.
It would be easy for me to say you should have educated yourself better. However in some of the deepest rural (MAGA) areas in the US, there is limited internet, many don't have hospitals close, and they don't have access to more information. Those people I do feel for.
Now the people who knew, the people who consciously made that decision in the voting both, the people too stubborn to use critical thinking?
Well those people I don't feel for.
As for me, I don't read something and make a decision. I try and find articles that aren't from my perspective. Articles that make me consider if the information changes my stance. Luckily critical thinking was still taught when I was in school. Sadly that is not the case anymore.
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u/Darth_Ra 3h ago
Look, I love everything you're saying here, but...
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u/q0_0p 2h ago
You might find it interesting to look up 'Russian Tail Election Data 2024'
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u/DeputyDomeshot 4h ago
Reddit keeps saying this but Iām unsure they understand how voting works in the US on a federal level. All those Americans who didnāt voteā¦ how many of them are in CA or NY which are massively populated states that are Blue to begin with? Thereās like a handful of states that were even swingable based on the most idealized version of voter turnout.
Itās just a common talking point I see a lot here that I suspect lacks nuance which is part and parcel of the central issue of short attention spans and peopleās inability to understand context over trite little sound bytes.
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u/solapelsin 4h ago
I get that one vote in a locked red or blue state wonāt change the turnout there, but at least post your ballot and send a message if you care at all. It would have meant something reassuring to the world to see statistics like that, and to swing states for future elections. They just didnāt care enough
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u/charlesgegethor 4h ago
Exactly. It makes the whole thing look so much worse then the popular vote wins by several million votes, only to lose to electoral college bullshit. It sends a message to everyone else that yes, we do believe in social equality.
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 4h ago
One impression I've always gotten from politicians is that if you don't vote, you literally do not matter to them. I voted blue in New York for years knowing that I wasn't tipping the scales but I wanted it noted that someone in my demographic voted.
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u/OMGitisCrabMan 3h ago
Right. trump barely won the plurality of votes and they ran with that as a "mandate" bc it's the first time they won the popular vote in like 20 years.
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u/Falsus 4h ago
I mean people did travel to Qatar and the biggest issue with that Wold Cup in the end wasn't the thousands of slaves that died building those arenas but that they weren't allowed to drink beer.
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u/Former-Advice-2343 5h ago
That's just it, only 21% of Americans voted for the orange tyrant. The ones that didn't vote are also to blame for the situation they are in. But to be fair, america has always been this way. The orange cnut has just highlighted the fact for the world to see.
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u/Coneskater 5h ago
Canceled my plans to go back and Iām a U.S. citizen, not sure when Iāll go back
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u/daftmonkey 5h ago
How about sympathy for those that used their voice to attack our perfectly reasonable Trump alternative from the left because she was insufficiently ideologically pure?
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u/Dealan79 5h ago
If under 22 or so, they used up their full share of "dumb kid" reserve, which is that leeway younger people get for not having the life experience and wisdom to understand that there is a giant gap between abstract arguments and real world consequences. It's the same currency young libertarians spend to avoid being mocked for praising anything written by Ayn Rand. Any adults with fully developed brains that aren't swimming in too many hormones have zero excuses and deserve no sympathy.
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u/JaggeryKapi 5h ago
Well, heās not longer the recipient of the blood money so he doesnāt want others to have them as well
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u/ShowMeYourPapers 5h ago
He can feel the reaper's cold breath on his neck. He is desperate to ensure that when weighed, his heart will prove lighter than the feather. But the stink of gold wafts into a heavy finger that will push the scale.
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u/Professional-Story43 5h ago
Fans IN THE US should not travel to World Cup. BOYCOTT!
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u/marcos_MN 5h ago
As an American, Minnesotan, and South Minneapolitan, I agree.
Boycott this fascist country. And if you can, send help.
Iām not saying send troops or something, but look into mutual aid, and organizations who are supporting the residents of Minneapolis and Minnesota.
People are going to need food, medicine, rent and utility money, etc.
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u/SnausageFest 4h ago
Seriously, money talks. Don't come here. Don't spend your money with us companies. Hurting billionaires is literally the only thing that will move the needle.
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u/R7H27 5h ago
Thank you to you and your brothers for standing up against fascism.
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u/marcos_MN 5h ago
We have to. We have no choice.
But letās be clear: Minneapolis has ALWAYS been antifascist. Minnesota hasnāt voted for a republican president in over a half a century.
THAT is why we are being targeted. Because we donāt take this shit. Minnesotans are, as the world can now see, some of the TOUGHEST humans on the planet. Hell, we CHOOSE to live in a place where it routinely gets so cold itāll kill you.
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u/JesusMurphy99 5h ago
I wish we could help but we're busy preparing how to deal with the collapse of the American empire and what that means for our own country. In other words I support you but have nothing to give.
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u/Icy-Banana-3291 2h ago
In my opinion, if youāre not a citizen and of the caucasian race, the US is not a safe place to travel to now.
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u/gargamels_right_boot 2h ago
I can't understand why anyone in their right mind would travel to the US now
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u/Short-Sand9376 5h ago
Planned on watching it on the telly but with the orange dementia patient on the loose, probably skipping it.
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u/flyinghighdoves 4h ago
Please dont come. Boycott the damn thing and make sure the world knows its because of the trump regime
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u/plusoneforautism 2h ago
If even Sepp Blatter thinks there's too much corruption and greed in FIFA now, there's something seriously wrong.
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u/res30stupid 2h ago
I don't even think players should travel to the US for the World Cup, let alone fans.
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u/Golden-- 2h ago
As an American, I agree with him, but also he's the last person who should be opening his mouth.
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u/Proof-Puzzled 1h ago
The world has become so blatantly corrupt and surreal that blatter has become a voice of reason and morality.
How low have we fallen.
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u/Infidel8 4h ago
I like that he framed it as a matter of personal safety.
Boycotting over Greenland may not resonate with fans who aren't politically engaged. But when you point out that Trump could falsely arrest, imprison, or assault you for being too brown, too foreign, or too vocal, then that's something everyone needs to take heed of.
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u/mythisme 3h ago
I'd say, let's boycott not only US but FIFA as well... let them know actions have consequences.
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u/RuthlessMango 3h ago
Sepp Blater taking a moral stand against his own income was not on my bingo card for this year.
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u/spiderham42 3h ago
Wow a corrupt official denouncing the acts of other corrupt officials. He has a point though.
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u/sonnycam512 3h ago
Yes please boycott. There are more important issues in life than world cup soccer
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u/Only_Beautiful_9698 3h ago
If you do go steer well clear of any demonstrations or
You might just end up Dead.
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u/PoutineCurator 2h ago
Not just for the world cup, but for any reason really. It would be like going in Germany in 1935.
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u/Acceptable-Grade-116 2h ago
Blatter didn't set the bar very high but Infantino limboed right under it
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u/Bombadier83 2h ago
I meanā¦ if you really want to use this to make a statement, then the teams shouldnāt travelā¦
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u/someguy7734206 2h ago
I guess avoiding travel to the US is being framed here as a safety thing, but really, fans should boycott FIFA altogether, not just in where they travel.
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u/shep2105 2h ago
idk why anyone in their right mind would come here from another country.
Noem is already arranging for ICE to be en masse at the Super Bowl and has said their will be ICE at WC
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u/National-Mistake-606 1h ago
For everyone who needs a reminder, this is the guy who was found to be too corrupt to run FIFA and was suspended until 2027.
Which is coincidentally next year, don't let the pearl clutching fool you. Dude just wants one more suck at the fifa money tits.
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u/KryptosFR 5h ago
I can't wait to see the full stadium in Canada and Mexico and the empty ones in the USA.
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u/EvelcyclopS 4h ago
Sorry to disappoint but the us stadiums will be at capacity.
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u/Mass_Spr_Sknk 2h ago
You're in for a long wait. Football fans are mugs. They went to Qatar, they went to Russia, they're going to America in 2026.Ā
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u/353452252 5h ago
Why wouldnāt we travel to the most peaceful country on earth according to FiFA?
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u/enlamadre666 5h ago
But why did he tell people to watch it on telly? He should have told them to come to Mexico or Canada! Besides in Mexico we treat them way better and the food is so much better (sorry Canadians! Nothing personalā¦)
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u/KYSissyTrisha 4h ago
I'm going to take it one step further and suggest TEAMS boycott the event as well.
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u/IchBinDurstig 4h ago
The man with the horrendous name is right. You're not safe here. Most of us aren't, either.
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u/Buckscience 4h ago
Unfortunately most football fans have little concern for what Sepp Blatter has to say, due to his own corruption. Conversely, if it's too nasty for Blatter to stomach, maybe people will heed his word. I hope they do.
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u/munkijunk 4h ago
To those thinking there's going to be a boycott, people travelled to Qatar and Sochi. There's no hope of a mass boycott.
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u/PlasticAd8465 3h ago
I mean who in there right mind would travel there...Yes i know there will be people who will say World cup was in Russia & Qatar but in these two were realistically safer then US right now. As canadian warning says,you can be at the wrong time at the wrong place...
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u/SugaryRobot 3h ago
Why take the risk of getting beaten, locked up for months, or killed by masked goons? Just to watch a game of soccer?!?!
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u/bobosuda 3h ago
First time in almost 30 years that my country qualifies, and it's in the fucking US. Oh well, guess it'll be the second world cup in a row I'll boycott.
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u/Kerl1310 5h ago
Pretty weird considering the US is the sole recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize š¤·š»