BERLIN, Germany, January 24, 2026 – A German Football Association (DFB) official has said it is time to consider a boycott of the 2026 World Cup in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s actions.
The US will host world football’s showpiece event this summer, along with Canada and Mexico.
President Trump caused outrage among European leaders earlier this month by threatening to acquire Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark.
The 79-year-old threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries – including Germany – who opposed his plan.
Trump has since rowed back on that threat, but tensions between European leaders and the US government remain high.
“I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this [a boycott] concretely,” Oke Gottlich, a DFB vice-president, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper.
“For me, that time has definitely come.”
Of the 104 matches at this summer’s World Cup, 78 will be held in the US.
The French government said it is not currently in favour of a boycott, while the Danish Football Association said it is “aware of the current sensitive situation”.
Denmark will aim to qualify for the tournament via play-offs.
In making his argument, Gottlich referenced a US-led boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?” said Gottlich, who is also the president of Bundesliga club St Pauli.
“By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
Germany were involved in a row with Fifa at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when world football’s governing body threatened players with a booking for wearing the OneLove armband during games.
The captains of seven European nations were set to wear the armband to promote diversity and inclusion.
Instead, Fifa brought forward its own ‘No Discrimination’ campaign, which had been due to start from the quarter-finals, and captains were permitted to wear a No Discrimination armband for the duration of the tournament.
Germany players covered their mouths during the team photograph before their World Cup opener against Japan “to convey the message that Fifa is silencing” teams, said the country’s then-manager Hansi Flick.
“Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position,” said DFB at the time.
Gottlich added: “Qatar was too political for everyone and now we’re completely apolitical? That’s something that really, really, really bothers me.
“As organisations and society, we’re forgetting how to set taboos and boundaries, and how to defend values.
“Taboos are an essential part of our stance. Is a taboo crossed when someone threatens? Is a taboo crossed when someone attacks? When people die?
“I would like to know from Donald Trump when he has reached his taboo, and I would like to know from [DFB president] Bernd Neuendorf and [Fifa president] Gianni Infantino.”
