World News
Council of Europe urges FIFA to strengthen football ‘integrity’
Pan-European rights organisation the Council of Europe on Sunday urged governing body FIFA to strengthen the “integrity” of football, saying that the World Cup co-hosted by the United States had raised “question after question.”
The 2026 World Cup, which winds up later on Sunday with Argentina playing Spain in the final, had been tainted by political pressure, racist abuse of players and the opening up to betting markets, which paves the way to fraud, Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset said in a statement.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 has raised question after question,” he said.
“The celebration will end tonight. The questions will not.”
He said there must be “a working dialogue that starts tonight, to build the integrity framework of the 2030 World Cup before it is played.”
Referring to US President Donald Trump’s call to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the World Cup suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun, he said: “Political influence has also moved onto the field.”
“When the rules bend under pressure, every result is open to doubt,” Berset said.
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