Seven of the biggest controversies at the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Anyone who has so much as glanced at the news or scrolled through social media will be aware of the problems plaguing the 2026 FIFA World Cup held in the US, Canada, and Mexico and set to get underway on Thursday Evening.

Between the United States administration’s heavy-handed approach to immigration, President Donald Trump’s involvement in the conflict in the Middle East, debates over water bottles, inflated transit costs and astronomical ticket prices that could leave thousands of seats empty at this summer’s tournament, it is perhaps no surprise that FIFA has insisted it is “not involved”.

It is important to highlight that while this tournament is being co-hosted across three countries, the majority of the controversy appears to have centred around the United States, in addition to world football’s governing body.

Ahead of the World Cup, FromTheSpot takes a look back at some of the most high-profile incidents that have cast a shadow over the tournament before a ball has even been kicked.

The consequences of the United States’ involvement in Iran

Perhaps the biggest story in the buildup to this summer’s tournament is the United States’ involvement in the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen Iran – and a handful of their regional allies – targeted by American and Israeli airstrikes that targeted government sites and killed high-profile Iranian officials, including their Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran responded with strikes on Israel and the United States’ military bases, while also forcing the closure of the Straight of Hormuz, which served to severely disrupt global trade and force a sudden spike in oil and gas prices worldwide.

In the background of this sat the Iranian national team. Despite being one of the first teams to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their participation in the tournament was rapidly being called into question, with the situation exacerbated by the fact that all three of their Group Stage fixtures were scheduled to be held in the United States.

But while FIFA have refused to budge on the host stadiums for Iran’s games, stating in March that they were “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025”, the sport’s governing body have permitted a change of base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico.

The United States only granted visas to the Iranian squad last Friday, just 10 days before their first group stage match against New Zealand. But while the playing squad have permission to enter the country, the same cannot be said for many “key managerial and administrative members” of the backroom staff, according to the Iranian Football Federation.

Those who have been granted visas will commute to the United States for each of their group stage clashes, with a Department for Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson clarifying on Tuesday that, contrary to media reports that emerged over the weekend, “thanks to the generosity of President Trump, the Iranian team will be able to arrive the day before their matches.”

Iranian fans, though, have seen their ticket allocation pulled in the past few days according to the Iranian Football Federation.

Travel bans and deposit uncertainty reduce number of travelling fans

As part of President Trump’s executive order to protect the country from “aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten national security, espouse hateful ideologies or otherwise exploit immigration laws for malevolent purposes”, some nations will be without travelling fans at this summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Haiti and Iran are both subject to full travel bans, while the Ivory Coast and Senegal are subject to partial restrictions.

Only in May did the United States government make an exemption to their visa bond scheme, which would have forced fans from select countries to make a $15,000 deposit in order to receive a tourist visa for the duration of the tournament.

The scheme, introduced in 2025, affected 50 countries – although now fans from Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia are exempt, so long as they have valid match tickets.

Somali referee denied entry to the United States

Omar Artan, recognised by the African Football Federation (CAF) as their 2025 Referee of the Year, has been denied entry into the United States and has therefore been removed from FIFA’s list of referees for the tournament.

The Somali referee arrived into Miami International Airport but was repatriated by the United States authorities, bringing an end to his hopes of refereeing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after being interviewed and held for over 11 hours.

Somalia is one of the countries affected by President Trump’s aforementioned travel bans. A senior Somali advisor confirmed to the BBC that the referee had been travelling with valid documents, and an embassy official added that the 34-year-old had been issued with a diplomatic passport to facilitate his easier access into the United States.

It has emerged that the US administration suspected Artan to be linked with terror organisations in Somalia.

Artan has since been confirmed as the man in the middle for the 2026 UEFA Super Cup between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain, before the league season commences in August.

FIFA confirmed that Artan “will be unable to train and officiate” at the tournament, clarifying that they are “not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications.”

The sport’s governing body added that they have been “informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present”, and that “in line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”

It will not be possible for Artan to exclusively referee matches in Mexico and Canada, as FIFA have enforced that all on-pitch officials must reside at a training hub in Florida throughout the tournament.

Senegal and Uzbekistan’s extra security checks

Arriving into the United States hasn’t been a smooth experience for Senegal or Uzbekistan either, with both teams facing strict security checks after landing ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Footage on social media appeared to show the Senegalese squad being subjected to bag searches and body scans on the tarmac before being permitted to enter the airport terminal.

Uzbekistan’s players – and Italian head coach Fabio Cannavaro – were greeted by drug-sniffing dogs ahead of their friendly against the Netherlands in New York on Monday.

The public transport fiasco

Europeans often joke about the car-centric nature of the United States, but they are rapidly finding out just how difficult it is to walk to stadiums and just how dire the public transport situation is in some of the country’s major cities.

MetLife Stadium – rebranded as the New Jersey New York Stadium for the purposes of this summer’s tournament – is completely inaccessible on foot, owing to the marshland it is built upon. But with train fares to the stadium hiked from $12.90 to $150 (and then reduced to $98 after public backlash), some fans have expressed that they will attempt to walk along the I95 highway in a bid to avoid excessive train or rideshare fares.

Still, that is one of the easier stadiums to access at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Some stadiums in the United States are completely unserved by public transport, pushing fans towards rideshare services which not only deploy surge pricing, but will also contribute to lengthy traffic jams between the airport, city centre and stadium areas on matchdays.

Inflated ticket prices set to cause half-empty stadiums

The ticket prices at the 2026 FIFA World Cup have drawn a lot of criticism, and it appears that an awful lot of fans aren’t willing to fork out thousands for tickets to group stage clashes.

As per the Financial Times, there are 176,000 tickets available on FIFA’s official resale platform for the group stage of the competition alone – even after the average price dropped by 20% over the course of the last month.

They also report that around 16,000 tickets are unsold for games involving Iran, thanks in no small part to the travel ban enforced by the United States government and the apparent withdrawal of Iran’s official ticket allocation in recent days.

FIFA’s pricing structure has come under fire, with tickets for group stage fixtures decided by a secretive popularity ranking that has, in effect, penalised fans of “better” teams with higher prices.

The cheapest face value ticket to an England group stage fixture is £164, while Scotland fans can pick up tickets to their meeting with Haiti for £134.

For context, group stage fixtures in Qatar four years ago had fixed prices starting from £68.50.

There is widespread speculation – albeit unconfirmed – that FIFA have started to dump tickets en masse via secondary resale platforms, which permit them to list tickets for “undesirable” fixtures below face value without officially reducing the price on their own website.

After images of half-empty stadiums at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup in the United States went viral on social media, the sport’s governing body will be keen to avoid an embarrassing repeat – especially when president Gianni Infantino has consistently stated that the tournament is a sell-out.

Reusable water bottles banned, then unbanned

FIFA have u-turned on their water bottle policy twice in the space of a week.

Fans had expected to be permitted to bring empty, transparent and reusable plastic bottles into stadiums, although FIFA confirmed last week that they would be banning refillable plastic bottles to “prevent risk and injury to players and attendees”.

But the move sparked controversy given the weather expected in North America throughout this summer.

FIFA have implemented three-minute hydration breaks at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a player welfare measure, with more than a third of matches at the tournament marked as “high risk for dangerously hot, humid conditions” according to a study by National Public Radio.

The sport’s governing body, after attracting criticism from fan groups and political leaders including Sir Kier Starmer, have partially reversed the blanket ban on water bottles and will now permit fan to enter stadiums with “one soft, plastic, 20 ounces (598ml), factory-sealed disposable water bottle”.

It mirrors the policy in place at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which was also held in the United States. Bottled water in stadiums at that tournament was on sale for around £3.

Yet with all the controversy that has so far surrounded the 2026 FIFA World Cup, readers are still invited to relish in the record-104 matches available to watch, with four nations making their debut on the world stage and icons of the game Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others set to take part for the final time. Remember to drink it in.