A German soccer official wants his nation to skip the 2026 World Cup because he finds President Trump’s foreign policy too threatening to ignore.
Story Snapshot
- Oke Göttlich, vice president of Germany’s soccer federation, called for boycott discussions over Trump’s Greenland bid and tariff threats against European allies.
- Göttlich leads St. Pauli, a Bundesliga club known for left-wing activism, and claims current US-Europe tensions exceed Cold War Olympic boycott triggers.
- The call stands alone with no support from German federation leadership or other European nations, though France’s sports minister left the door open to future action.
- Germany’s soccer body previously criticized Qatar’s 2022 World Cup over human rights but shifted to an apolitical stance after poor tournament performance.
When Activism Meets Soccer Bureaucracy
Oke Göttlich occupies a peculiar position in German soccer. He presides over St. Pauli, a Hamburg club whose fans wear pirate skull-and-crossbones emblems borrowed from neighborhood squatters and whose stadium sits in the city’s red-light district. St. Pauli treats political activism as core identity, not corporate obligation. As one of ten vice presidents on the German Soccer Federation’s executive committee, Göttlich carries institutional weight his peers at conventional clubs lack. His January 23 interview with Hamburger Morgenpost dropped a proposal most federation officials would dismiss out of hand: Germany should seriously discuss boycotting the 2026 World Cup because of Donald Trump.
The Greenland Gambit That Sparked the Call
Trump’s push to acquire control of Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, ignited European alarm in mid-January. The president threatened tariffs on eight European countries resisting his Arctic ambitions, raising fears of NATO fracture. A January 21 meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte produced what Trump called a “framework for a deal,” delaying planned February 1 tariffs. Göttlich seized on this sequence as evidence of existential danger. He invoked the 1980 Moscow Olympics boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the 1984 Soviet retaliation in Los Angeles, arguing Trump’s actions pose greater threats than those Cold War triggers. His logic prioritizes geopolitical principle over sporting tradition.
Historical Echoes and Institutional Hypocrisy
Göttlich accused the German federation and FIFA of selective moral outrage. Germany loudly opposed Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup on human rights grounds, yet the federation adopted an apolitical stance after the tournament under coach Julian Nagelsmann. Göttlich sees this shift as cowardice. FIFA president Gianni Infantino maintains ties with Trump, a relationship Göttlich highlighted as hypocrisy given FIFA’s Qatar criticism. The federation president, Bernd Neuendorf, has not endorsed Göttlich’s boycott talk. Without support from the executive committee or Neuendorf, the proposal remains one man’s crusade. France’s sports minister, Marina Ferrari, stated her country has no current boycott plans but declined to rule out future consideration.
The Players Nobody Asked
St. Pauli fields internationals from Australia and Japan, players for whom a World Cup represents career pinnacle. Göttlich dismissed their interests bluntly, prioritizing what he views as defense of democratic values over individual ambitions. His stance reflects St. Pauli’s culture, where activism trumps conventional professional priorities. Mainstream German soccer operates differently. The Bundesliga prioritizes revenue, player development, and competitive success over political posturing. Göttlich’s call challenges that model, testing whether European soccer will prioritize values over economic and sporting interests. The 2026 tournament, scheduled for June 11 to July 19 across the US, Canada, and Mexico, already faces criticism over high ticket prices and visa restrictions for fans from certain nations.
Reality Check on Boycott Prospects
Göttlich’s proposal carries minimal chance of success. No European federation has endorsed the idea beyond vague French openness. FIFA controls World Cup participation, and Infantino shows no inclination to accommodate anti-Trump activism. Germany’s federation leadership values tournament revenue and player opportunities too highly to sacrifice them for political theater. Göttlich represents St. Pauli’s fringe perspective, not mainstream German soccer sentiment. His comparison to 1980s Olympic boycotts ignores key differences: those protests targeted host nations invading neighbors, not hosts making controversial policy statements. Trump’s Greenland bid and tariff threats, while aggressive, do not constitute military invasion or clear human rights violations on Qatar’s scale. Göttlich conflates political disagreement with moral emergency, a leap most federations will reject.
What This Reveals About European Anxiety
Göttlich’s call exposes deeper European frustration with Trump’s transatlantic approach. Tariff threats and territorial ambitions unsettle allies accustomed to predictable American leadership. Soccer, often a neutral space, becomes a proxy battlefield when officials like Göttlich demand values-based action. The proposal also highlights inconsistency in applying political standards to sports. Germany criticized Qatar but plays matches in nations with questionable records when convenient. Göttlich’s willingness to call out that hypocrisy distinguishes him from cautious federation peers. Whether his boycott talk gains traction depends on Trump’s next moves. If tariffs resume or NATO tensions escalate, European governments might pressure federations to act. For now, Göttlich stands alone, a punk club president challenging soccer’s political status quo.
Sources:
German soccer federation official wants World Cup boycott considered because of Trump – ESPN
German soccer federation official wants World Cup boycott considered because of Trump – ClickOrlando
German soccer official calls for World Cup boycott to protest Trump – Fox News