There are hundreds of sports enthusiasts who were either not granted a US visa or, if they were, were denied it at the last minute.
The World Cup, known as the global football championship, is currently being played in three countries of the North American continent - the United States, Canada and Mexico. This is the first time that three countries from a continent are jointly hosting this championship. That is why its motto is: 'United as One'. Most of the matches of the championship are to be played in the United States. But the behavior of the Trump administration of the United States is disappointing for sports lovers as well as for the players.
There are hundreds of sports enthusiasts who have either not been granted US visas, or if they were granted them, they were cancelled at the last minute. That too without any reason being given. It is being claimed that the cancellation of visas or the forced boarding of return flights upon arrival in the US is being done based on the scrutiny of the behavior and social media posts of the citizens of each country.
The same label is being used for every such case: 'bad actor'. The sad thing is that this label is not only being used for sports fans, players and sports administrators are also being targeted for such character assassination. Somalia's Omar Artan was banned from coming to the US with this same label, even though he is set to be the 'Best Referee in Africa' in 2025.
He has a diplomatic passport and his visa was issued two months ago. He has refereed more than a dozen matches in the last two World Cup tournaments. How did he suddenly become a 'bad actor'? The Trump administration did not see fit to provide any clarification on the case. Similarly, the Iranian football team was not given visas to stay in the US. That team is based in Mexico; the matches are on American soil.
They came to the US by bus from Mexico City to play their first match. The team had to wait six hours at the border to get transit visas. Despite this, they drew 2-2 with New Zealand. Their next league match is against Belgium on June 22. It will be interesting to see whether the team is treated well on that day after the latest US-Iran deal.
Football is the most popular sport in the world, played in every corner of the world. It is also a symbol of egalitarianism because on its field there is no gap between the rich and the poor. This is the reason why a small African country like Cape Verde (3ap Verde) forces a powerful country like Spain to a goalless draw. Similarly, Ronaldo's Portugal fails to defeat Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Despite the suspense surrounding such dramatic outcomes, if the US does not benefit much financially from the current football World Cup, then the Trump administration and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be blamed. In the eyes of the 'ICE' agents, every foreign sports fan is a potential illegal immigrant to the US. Therefore, the sooner he is deported from the US, the better for the host country.
It is regrettable that despite such excesses, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has not shown the courage to protect the rights and interests of players, sports administrators and sports fans. Such administrative and moral cowardice is beyond all tolerance.
