US soccer chief accuses Gianni Infantino of ‘betrayal’ and ‘tainting the whole game’ to curry favor with Donald Trump.
The vice president of the United States Soccer Federation has criticized Gianni Infantino for ‘meeting’ with Donald Trump before, and during, the 2026 World Cup.
In an explosive editorial for The Guardian, Nathan Goldberg Crenier said the FIFA president had ‘contaminated the whole game’ by making a ‘Faustian deal’ with the US president.
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He added that Infantino had ‘betrayed’ the core principles of soccer’s governing body, and that his leadership’s direction threatened the ‘soul’ of the game.
Since the United States won the rights to host the 2026 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has worked to please Donald Trump in every way, supposedly to protect FIFA’s treatment of the American government,” wrote Crenier, in a piece published before the final won by Spain.
“Predictably, he met the same fate as everyone who made a Faustian deal with the US president: he learned that meeting Trump always backfires, spoiling the whole game along the way.
“I love soccer because, at its best, it is inclusive, democratic and accessible to everyone. So are billions of other people; the universal cultural impact of sport really gives it the potential to be a force for good that ‘unites the world’, as FIFA likes to say.
“We saw this force at work at the start of the World Cup where, despite Trump’s tough anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner policies, the sentiment shows that visiting teams and fans are finding the majority of Americans to be warm and welcoming.
“But for years now, Infantino has been betraying those principles by combining FIFA, the organization that represents the people’s game, with Trump, his political project that is openly focused on division, selfishness and violence.
“Because Infantino’s actions are damaging football in a way that I cannot accept, and especially because he is doing so by involving himself in the domestic politics of my country, I feel compelled to publicly condemn myself.”
FIFA’s Folarin Balogun case ‘drags the ball into the mud’
Crenier, who was elected VP of US Soccer in 2024, singled out FIFA’s decision to overturn star player Folarin Balogun’s red card before the USMNT was eliminated by Belgium in the Round of 16 as a moment that ‘drew the ball in the mud.’
“When it comes to Trump’s interference in the Balogun case, the biggest risks were the integrity of football,” he wrote.
“Of course, in a small sense, US Soccer has benefited from having a star player back from suspension.
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“But in a sense, US soccer has also become a victim: our players were swept up in a political storm before the most important game of their lives, and our greatest opportunity to showcase American soccer to the world will now be tainted by allegations of favoritism and egregious corruption, unfairly tarnishing the credibility and reputation of US soccer around the world.”
“To begin with, for humiliating our game so many times, Infantino (awarded) Trump the right to present the World Cup on Sunday.
“The fact that Infantino has faced so little accountability for dragging the ball through the mud shows a battle for the soul of the game — that his future will be one of independence and over-commercialization, rather than the power to do good.
“I’m not saying: the leaders of football must reject Infantino’s idea of arrogance and exchange for a good game.”
Crenier concluded that while the World Cup will be seen as a huge commercial success, Infantino has been ‘blessing Trump’s wars in the name of football’ by awarding him the FIFA Peace Prize before the US President arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and went to war with Iran.
“With this award, Infantino has put FIFA’s reputation on the line by committing to Trump’s anti-war foreign policy,” argued Crenier.
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“And while the World Cup will go down as a huge commercial success, no amount of money will ever erase the stain of blessing Trump’s wars in the name of soccer.”
Crenier ended his surprise outburst by urging FIFA members to ‘defend the integrity’ of football by opposing what Infantino stands for.
“All FIFA members have a duty to protect the integrity of the sport and save FIFA from itself, even if it risks retaliation,” he suggested.
“In the short term, I hope that the confederations around the world will find the courage to oppose Infantino’s vision for this game.
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“In the long term, I urge them to make changes in the governance structure that takes power from the FIFA president and transfers it to the Council, the Congress and the Secretary-General, so that no one person can do one thing that harms football again.
“Perhaps the biggest legacy of this world cup will be that it inspired us to speak up and defend the principles that make football a game for the people.”
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