The 2026 World Cup has been mired in several controversies, from political interference to allegations of greed and insensitivity against FIFA, and even controversy over the widely hated VAR.
Al Jazeera analyzes the five biggest controversies so far in the 2026 soccer tournament.
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FIFA advises people to ‘calm down and relax’ after Somali referee denied entry to US
Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Altan was denied entry to the United States and missed the World Cup despite having a valid visa.
The US administration’s wide-ranging immigration policies are widely described as racist and discriminatory, and last year the US government imposed blanket travel bans on nationals of 12 countries, including Somalia and the four World Cup qualifying teams: Haiti, Iran, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Officials from President Donald Trump’s administration said, without providing any evidence, that Artan was denied entry because of his ties to “suspected members of a terrorist organization.”
However, Artan is a well-respected referee and was named the Confederation of African Football’s Men’s Referee of the Year in 2025. FIFA has been noticeably silent in Artan’s defense, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino saying critics should “calm down and relax.”
At least Artan will be paid a full salary and will referee next season’s UEFA Super Cup after returning home to a hero’s welcome.
Balogun’s reprieve calls into question the integrity of the tournament
Infantino was also forced to defend FIFA’s disciplinary procedures after FIFA suspended U.S. striker Folarin Balogun from the World Cup with a red card following direct intervention from President Trump, leading to accusations that FIFA had caved to political pressure.
Infantino said FIFA’s judicial body operates “independently and autonomously” and told President Trump that the Balogun incident was the subject of ongoing legal proceedings after the US president personally urged Trump to review the incident.
The incident drew condemnation from European soccer’s governing body UEFA, which said that “a line had been crossed that should not be crossed.” Criticism also came from the Royal Belgian Football Association, several national federations, senior football coaches, officials and politicians. Many argued that FIFA had undermined confidence in its own disciplinary system.
Belgium, which advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory over the United States in America’s final World Cup game, was challenging Balogun’s qualification just hours before kickoff. However, FIFA rejected the appeal, the striker started the match but had little impact, and the Americans finished the tournament with little more than a whimper.
“I think they (FIFA) made a really great decision,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I asked for a review. I think it would have been a big stain (on the World Cup) if top players were not allowed to participate. I expressed my feelings.”
Trump also questioned the quality of refereeing of Brazil’s Rafael Klaus, who sent Balogun off, saying, “If you look at his past, it’s a little questionable.” He did not elaborate. The Brazilian Football Association rejected any suggestions regarding the referee’s integrity, but FIFA once again failed to fully support the referee.
VAR concerns
There have been some damning rulings over the use of the much-maligned Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, but perhaps the loudest came after Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 loss to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the World Cup.
Egypt looked set for one of the tournament’s biggest upsets on Tuesday when they led defending champion Argentina 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining, but conceded three goals late on and suffered a crushing defeat.
Much of the controversy centered on Egypt’s Mostafa Zico’s goal in the 62nd minute that doubled his team’s lead. A VAR review confirmed a foul by the Egyptian player during the build-up and the goal was disallowed.
Coach Hossam Hassan and captain Mohamed Salah expressed their disappointment after the match, while several former players and TV pundits also questioned the referee.
Former England goalkeeper Rob Green said of the foul that led to Zico’s goal being canceled on Fox’s live broadcast of the game: “Certainly it’s outside the scope of VAR review.” “It’s the distance of the entire pitch.”
VAR was also a major issue in Argentina’s 3-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland.
Swiss forward Breel Embolo was shown a second yellow card for simulation in the 72nd minute, five minutes after teammate Dan Ndoye canceled out Alexis Mac Allister’s opener, making Switzerland the bigger threat.
The referee initially ruled against Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes before a lengthy VAR review found there had been no foul on Embolo.
“There was absolutely no reason to give him a yellow card,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “It was a harmless situation. He should have let the play continue.”
very high ticket price
Earlier this week, it was revealed that FIFA has approximately 1,200 Category 2 tickets on sale for $7,380 for the World Cup finals, to be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA.
FIFA has repeatedly come under heavy criticism over the price of World Cup tickets throughout the various stages of sales leading up to the tournament, with one fan group filing a lawsuit citing “excessive ticket prices”.
In April, FIFA put four tickets on the resale market for $2 million each. Infantino joked about it, but otherwise defended the eye-popping price, saying soccer’s international governing body was obligated to take advantage of a U.S. law that allows tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.
FIFA also faces subpoenas from the US states of New York and New Jersey as part of an investigation into the accuracy of World Cup ticket prices and seat locations.
“Hydration” commercial breaks
FIFA’s decision to introduce hydration breaks in all World Cup matches, regardless of temperature, also caused controversy.
When FIFA announced the rule in December, it cited the heat as a reason to insist that “FIFA prioritizes the welfare of its players, so players will benefit from a three-minute hydration break between each half of a match.”
Players, coaches, fans and pundits have criticized the move for disrupting games, effectively splitting them into four parts instead of in half, especially since many games are not played in excessively hot conditions.
“The stadiums in New York, California, Miami, and Mexico were hot enough, but there’s no good reason to rest in air-conditioned arenas like Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Vancouver,” senior meteorologist Everton Fox told Al Jazeera.
“I am aware that FIFA claims they have done this for every match to ensure consistency,” Fox said. “But it’s hard to see this as anything other than a commercial venture worth millions, if not billions, of dollars of advertising on U.S. television channels around the world.”
