UEFA head Aleksander Ceferin boycotts World Cup final in protest against FIFA
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "UEFA head Aleksander Ceferin boycotts World Cup final in protest against FIFA")
UEFA head Aleksander Ceferin boycotts World Cup final in protest against FIFA Photograph: (AFP)
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the 2026 World Cup final in protest against FIFA. Discover the full story behind the deepening rift over red cards, referees, and ticket prices.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the recently concluded 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey between Argentina and Spain to protest against FIFA. Amid Folarin Balogun’s episode, in which FIFA did not explain why it reversed his red card appeal after US President Donald Trump’s intervention, the relationship between the two towering bodies has been under strain. That reason alone put FIFA’s integrity and fairness in the most-loved global sport under scrutiny, leaving a black spot on what was a successful World Cup campaign in North America.
UEFA kept its stance while expressing disappointment over Infantino and FIFA's disciplinary committee’s decision to overturn Balogun’s red card, calling it "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable" and saying it "crossed a red line".
British media reported that other sources of tension included FIFA's acquiescence when US authorities refused to allow Somali referee Omar Artan to enter the country. UEFA responded by appointing Artan to officiate its Super Cup final next month.
Meanwhile, the governing body was also unable to ensure that Iran was treated the same way as other teams playing in the US. While coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team was the "most oppressed" at the World Cup, the US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he "danced a happy dance" when Iran were knocked out of the tournament.
UEFA has also, so far, refused to adopt some of FIFA's World Cup innovations, such as hydration breaks, the "mistaken identity" VAR protocol, which led to the sending off of Breel Embolo in Switzerland's quarter-final loss to Argentina, or the cards for players who cover their mouths talking to an opponent.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
Ceferin didn’t hold back and also criticised the enlarged 48-team tournament before it kicked off.
"We have a lot of matches that are completely uninteresting," he was quoted as saying in a newspaper in his native Slovenia.
Ceferin has also been publicly critical of World Cup ticket prices.
UEFA has said that it would continue to offer two 'fan first' ticket categories at the 2028 Euros in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It said that 40 per cent of tickets would either be priced below £30 (€35 or $40) or below £60. It has also promised not to adopt dynamic pricing.
In stark contrast, Ceferin did attend the opening match of the tournament in Mexico City on June 11.
(With inputs from AFP)
