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New York Times
37 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Donald Trump stunt proves FIFA is happy to play politics when it suits
Timothy Weah sounded like someone who felt he had been ambushed. 'It was all a surprise to me, honestly,' the United States national-team player told reporters of his trip to the White House, where he was part of a delegation from his Italian club Juventus standing awkwardly in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump answered media questions about a possible U.S. attack on Iran and riffed about transgender women in sport. Advertisement 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' Weah said. 'It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of, like… I just want to play football, man.' Weah looked like he wished he could be somewhere — anywhere — else. Likewise, his Juventus and U.S. team-mate Weston McKennie, who described Trump as 'ignorant' for his response to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. With the exception of John Elkann, chief executive of the Turin-based club's majority shareholder Exor, introduced by Trump as a 'fantastic business person' and 'a friend of mine', the whole delegation looked uncomfortable — not least when the president pointedly asked them, 'Could a woman make your team, fellas?' It fell to Juventus general manager Damien Comolli to break the awkward silence, answering, 'We have a very good women's team.' 'See? They're very diplomatic,' Trump said. Among the inevitable media questions about Iran, Israel and U.S. border controls, there was one inquiry about the ongoing Club World Cup being played in the States — or specifically about how the tournament, and next year's World Cup, might be affected by the travel ban imposed on citizens of 19 countries, which, as The New York Times revealed this week, could be extended to a further 36. At this point, Trump turned to his other 'great friend', FIFA president Gianni Infantino. 'It's not a concern,' Infantino said of the travel ban, adding that the 'learnings' from the Club World Cup would apply to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 'I don't think he (Infantino) is too worried about the travel ban,' Trump said. 'He doesn't know what the travel ban is, I don't think. Gianni, tell me what the travel ban is. He doesn't know what it is. He's largely sold out.' Advertisement Infantino, as is his way, rocked his head back and laughed before reverting to nodding-dog mode when the agenda returned to more serious matters. To be clear, when Trump said, 'He's largely sold out', he appeared to be talking about the number of tickets that have been purchased for Club World Cup matches. But… well, some of Infantino's growing army of critics might be tempted to say it works both ways. During his campaign to win the FIFA presidency in 2016, Infantino visited Iran's capital Tehran, where he was asked how the diplomatic rift between that country and Saudi Arabia might impact the sport. 'It's very clear that politics should stay out of football and football should stay out of politics,' he said at a news conference. There was a similar response at Audi Field, Washington, on Wednesday night when The Athletic asked Juventus coach Igor Tudor how it had felt to be standing behind the desk at the Oval Office on a matchday as the U.S. president discussed affairs in Iran and Israel. The FIFA moderator of the news conference interjected, saying Tudor would only answer questions relating to Juventus' 5-0 win over Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, and to the Club World Cup more generally. Two days previously, when The Athletic asked FIFA whether the decision to drop anti-discrimination messaging from Club World Cup venues was related to the current political climate in the U.S., it pointed to its statutes, which say 'FIFA remain neutral in matters of politics'. Then, on Wednesday, FIFA did display anti-racism slogans at tournament games, but only as a one-off to mark International Day for Countering Hate Speech. If it all sounds very messy, that's because it is. Keeping politics out of the game sounds like an entirely reasonable position for world football's governing body to take. But it is also the most disingenuous stance imaginable when the same coach and his players had been ushered into the Oval Office a few hours before that game and when the FIFA president has been accused by UEFA, European football's governing body, of prioritising 'private political interests' above the interests of the sport. Advertisement Infantino denies that accusation, citing the importance of working closely with the U.S. leadership for the good of the Club World Cup and next year's World Cup. But the 'bromance' with Trump appears to mark the continuation of a theme. Infantino was similarly friendly with President Vladimir Putin before, during and after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, accepting an 'order of friendship' medal from him in 2019 and telling the world, 'This is a new image of Russia that we now have' — a statement that did not age well. Then there was the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Infantino was accused by human-rights campaign groups of becoming too close to the host nation's leaders and of trivialising the conditions faced by migrant workers there — as explored in depth by The Athletic's Simon Hughes — by comparing them to his own experiences as the son of Italian immigrants in Switzerland in the 1970s and 1980s. Seven European football associations, including England, Germany and the Netherlands, were warned by FIFA that their teams would face sanctions if their captains wore 'OneLove' armbands promoting an anti-discrimination campaign featuring a rainbow logo during games at that tournament. FIFA deemed the messaging to be 'political', which in itself seemed like a political stance to take in Qatar, given that it had only months earlier flown the rainbow flag at its headquarters in Zurich in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Iranian fans in Qatar were detained for wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan 'Women, Life, Freedom' or the name of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in police custody in Tehran earlier that year after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. It is beyond question that the messaging on these T-shirts was political. But so, too, were the actions of the authorities in Qatar in detaining those who wore them. The 2034 men's World Cup will be staged by Saudi Arabia, another FIFA decision that has led to severe criticism from human rights campaign groups. FIFA has also agreed vast sponsorship deals with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned petroleum and gas company, and the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that is also the majority owner of Newcastle United. Already, Infantino's relationship with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is a subject of growing consternation within the game. Advertisement As with Russia in 2018, as with Qatar in 2022, the financial upside of these commercial deals is widely trumpeted. The political cost is never disclosed. It is entirely to be expected that staging major tournaments — whether in Russia, Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia or anywhere else — should require FIFA and its president to work closely with the leadership of the host nation. But increasingly, it feels as if football is being driven by geopolitical interests and the diplomatic relationships behind them. Football's authorities are happy to play politics when it suits them and then, at the drop of a hat, or the appearance of an unfriendly slogan or an inquisitive journalist, to put up barriers saying, 'No politics, please.' But at a global level, the game could hardly be more compromised politically than it has become, hosting men's World Cups in Russia and Qatar, and opting to do so in Saudi Arabia in 2034. And if anyone was naive enough to imagine the U.S.-led tournament in 2026 would be free of such political baggage, then surely the increasingly public proximity of the Trump-Infantino relationship has dispelled those illusions. Even 24 hours later, the footage from the Oval Office on Wednesday makes for uncomfortable viewing. For sports teams to be guests at the White House is hardly a new phenomenon, but to expect those Juventus players and officials to stand there in silence as Trump talks about the threat of war — or perhaps to be expected to nod obediently and then laugh along at other moments, like Infantino unfailingly does — was extraordinary. It would be wonderful to imagine a world in which sport and politics were kept apart. But this is an era when we have seen football clubs bought by politicians, oligarchs, sheikhs and sovereign wealth funds. When the game's leaders are in thrall to world leaders, when so many big decisions about its future seem to have geopolitical considerations at their heart, the opposite is true. Football? To use Trump's phrase, it's largely sold out.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bessent's Top Bank Reform Is Good for Markets
US banks seem likely to get the changes they want to an obscure but important rule known as the supplementary leverage ratio. The leading reform proposal should cut the capital that banks need for this measure and help make the Treasury market more resilient, but not lead to a giveaway of shareholder capital that could undermine their safety. For the financial system, that's a win-and-not-lose outcome. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been pushing for this to be the first major financial reform since he took on the job. The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it will discuss the changes next week and hold an open meeting. Two main changes have been under discussion. The first is to take Treasuries out of tallies for the size of bank balance sheets, which would mean banks could lend to the government almost without using any equity. The second is to reduce the amount of capital banks need for their whole balance sheet, which would allow them to run a larger balance sheet for a wider variety of assets. The latter option is now the leading plan, Bloomberg News reported this week.
Times of Oman
an hour ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Trump postpones decision to get involved in Iran conflict
Washington: US President Donald Trump is expected to make a decision about whether to take direct action against Iran in the next two weeks, the White House Press Secretary said. Karoline Leavitt, told reporters at a briefing here on Thursday that she had a message directly from Trump in response to speculation about whether he would get directly involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," the White House press secretary quoted Trump as saying. Leavitt said communication between the US and Iran "has continued" as the two sides engage in negotiations. She, however, did not provide specifics about whether they were direct or through intermediaries. Iran must agree to no enrichment of uranium, and Tehran must not be able to achieve a nuclear weapon as part of any diplomatic agreement, Leavitt said. Trump, on Wednesday, when asked about a potential US strike on Iran, remained noncommittal. "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump told reporters. "I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble. And they want to negotiate. And I say, 'Why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction?'", the US President said. Trump demanded that Iran give up its entire nuclear programme and has warned Iran to quickly surrender to a deal or face even more dire repercussions. On June 13, Israel launched an attack against Iran, carrying out strikes including against Iran's state television station. Tehran carried out a retaliatory attack, firing ballistic range missiles at Israel, targeting military and security installations, and hitting the Haifa oil refinery among others. The two countries have since then exchanged strikes. As per an analysis by Al Jazeera, Iran had long relied on its ally, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, to provide deterrence from direct Israeli attacks, but Hezbollah was significantly weakened after fighting an all-out war against Israel last year. In addition, Iran lost another ally when Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December 2024. Iran could also make Americans feel the impact of the war economically. It has threatened to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which would affect global trade and increase oil prices.
New York Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: He Came to Put Up a Flagpole And Got a Trump Talk on Iran
'I was basically just there as a fly on the wall, waiting for him to wrap it up and then we could get back to work.' CHRISTOPHER TATTERSALL, an arborist who found himself as part of an informal news conference on the White House lawn as President Trump discussed the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials. "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met Lammy on Thursday and held separate calls with his counterparts from Australia, France and Italy to discuss the conflict. The U.S. State Department said that Rubio and the foreign ministers agreed that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon." Lammy said the same on X while adding that the situation in the Middle East "remained perilous" and a "window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The role of the United States remained uncertain. Lammy also met Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, on Thursday in Washington, and said they had discussed a possible deal. Witkoff has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. The White House said Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday morning. The president has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
