Did Trump violate FIFA rules and put World Cup bid in danger with tweet?

Martin Rogers | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour ceremony with Coca-Cola and FIFA leadership unveil the trophy in New York City.

The race to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup had already gotten tighter than the collective bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada would have liked. With a tweet on Thursday evening, President Trump put the campaign further in jeopardy.

Trump was presumably trying to help when he issued his latest social media salvo, espousing the virtues of a bid he said was "STRONG."

Yet just as he has struggled with some of the technical niceties of life in the White House, the president was also apparently sketchy on the regulations of FIFA, soccer's archaic governing body, which is making an attempt to clean up its act.

An important part of the reform, which comes in the wake of a major corruption scandal, is to ensure that the bidding process for staging soccer's grandest event in 2026 is all above board, especially after controversy over how the 2018 tournament was awarded to Russia and the 2022 version to Qatar.

Trump's outburst would appear to be a clear case of political interference, laced as it was with veiled threats to withdraw international support from countries refusing to back the three-pronged proposal known as the United bid.

"It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid," Trump tweeted. "Why should we be supporting these countries when they don't support us (including at the United Nations)?"

FIFA's response on Friday was to point to its rule book, specifically restrictions on what government leaders cannot say in the build-up to the vote on June 13, when either the United bid, or the North African nation of Morocco, will emerge victorious.

2026 World Cup bid: North American organizers downplay Trump factor

“As a general rule, we cannot comment on specific statements in connection with the bidding process," FIFA said in a statement to Reuters. "We can only refer to the FIFA Regulations for the selection of the venue for the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and in particular to the Bid Rules of Conduct incorporated therein.”

That rule, Section 9.1 (iv), states: "activities conducted by the Government (in case of a Single bid), or Governments (in case of a Joint bid) ... may adversely affect the integrity of the Bidding process and create an undue influence on the Bidding process."

In other words, don't flex your political muscles, either by promising or threatening to withhold support, in exchange for a vote.

National federations have been suspended by FIFA in cases where it has been shown that the government interferes in soccer. There is zero chance of that happening with the U.S., certainly not on the back of one tweet, not that we'd notice much in the short term anyways with the men's national team having failed to qualify for Russia this summer.

Yet the more serious and immediate issue is that Trump's shadow further weakens a bid that once looked to be so much of a lock that many potential bidders pulled out as they felt there was no chance they could win.

His statements on immigration and his stance on Muslim countries continue to be a significant headache when it comes to a tournament that will involve 48 countries drawn from every continental confederation.

Maybe he is trying to match Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was seen as playing a decisive role in getting the 2018 event to his home country.

As things stand, however, Trump’s actions have been the political equivalent of an own goal.