FIFA World Cup: Five biggest controversies of the 2026 tournament

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The 2026 World Cup has been mired in several controversies, from political interference to allegations of greed and spinelessness against FIFA as well as officiating disputes around the widely-loathed VAR.

Al Jazeera breaks down the five biggest controversies of the 2026 football tournament so far.

FIFA advises people to ‘chill and relax’ after Somalian referee denied entry to US

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was unable to take part in the World Cup after being denied ⁠entry to the United States, despite having a valid visa.

The broader immigration policies of the US administration have been widely described as racist and discriminatory, with Washington imposing a sweeping travel ban last year on citizens of 12 countries, including Somalia, and four teams that qualified for the World Cup: Haiti, Iran, Senegal and Ivory Coast.

An official in the administration of US President Donald Trump said, without providing any evidence, that Artan was denied entry because of his links to “suspected members of terror organisations”.

But Artan is a well-respected referee and was named Confederation of African Football’s men’s official of the year in 2025. FIFA was conspicuously silent in defending Artan, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino saying critics should “chill and relax”.

At least Artan, who came home to a hero’s welcome, will be paid in full and will referee the UEFA Super Cup next season.

Balogun reprieve brings integrity of the tournament into question

Infantino was also forced to defend FIFA’s disciplinary process after its decision to suspend USA striker Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red-card ban following a direct intervention by Trump, fuelling accusations FIFA had bowed to political pressure.

Infantino said that FIFA’s judicial bodies had operated “independently and autonomously” and that he had told Trump the Balogun case ⁠was subject to an ongoing legal process, after the US president personally urged him to review the case.

The affair drew condemnation from European football body UEFA, which said FIFA had “crossed a red line”. 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, who advanced to the quarterfinals with an emphatic 4-1 victory over the USA in the USA team’s last World Cup game, had challenged Balogun’s eligibility hours before kickoff. But FIFA rejected the appeal and ⁠the striker started the match before making little impact as the Americans exited the tournament with barely a whimper.

“I think they [FIFA] made a really brilliant decision,” Trump told reporters at the Oval office. “I asked for a review. If they would not allow a top player to play I think it [the World Cup] would have had a big stain. ‌I related that feeling.”

Trump also questioned the quality of refereeing by Brazil’s Raphael Claus, who had sent Balogun off, saying he was “a little bit suspect if you check his past.” He did not elaborate. The Brazilian FA rejected any suggestion regarding the integrity of the referee, while FIFA again failed to fully back their official.

VAR vexation

There have been several rancorous decisions around the use of the much-maligned video assistant referee (VAR) system, perhaps most loudly after Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 World Cup round of 16 defeat by Argentina.

Egypt appeared on course for one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when they led defending champions Argentina 2-0 ⁠with 11 minutes remaining on Tuesday, only to concede three late goals and crash out.

Much of the controversy centred on a goal by Egypt’s Mostafa Zico in the 62nd minute that would have doubled his side’s lead. The goal was disallowed after a VAR review identified a foul by an Egyptian player in the build-up.

Coach Hossam Hassan ⁠and captain Mohamed Salah expressed their disappointment after the match, while several former players ⁠and television pundits also questioned the officiating.

“Surely, this is not within VAR’s to review this,” former England goalkeeper Rob Green said on Fox’s broadcast of the match, referring to the foul that led to Zico’s goal being quashed. “It’s a full length of the pitch away.”

VAR was also a major issue in Argentina’s 3-1 quarterfinal win over Switzerland .

Swiss forward Breel Embolo was shown a second yellow card for simulation in the 72nd minute, five minutes after teammate Dan Ndoye ⁠had cancelled out Alexis Mac Allister’s early opener and with Switzerland carrying the greater threat.

The referee had initially booked Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes before a lengthy VAR review established that Embolo had not been fouled.

“There ⁠was definitely no reason to award a yellow card,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said. “It was a harmless situation. He should have let play continue.”

Sky-high ticket prices

Earlier this week, it was revealed that FIFA had nearly 1,200 category two tickets priced at $7,380 on sale for the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey in the US.

FIFA repeatedly faced searing criticism over the cost of World Cup tickets throughout various sales phases ahead of the tournament, with one fan group filing a lawsuit over “excessive ticket prices”.

In April, FIFA had four tickets on its resale market priced at $2m each; Infantino joked about that, but otherwise defended the eyewatering prices, insisting that football’s global governing body was obliged to take advantage of laws in the US that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.

FIFA also faces a subpoena from the ‌US states of New York and New Jersey as part of an investigation surrounding ticket pricing and ⁠the accuracy of seat locations for the World Cup.

‘Hydration’ commercial breaks

FIFA’s decision to introduce hydration breaks in all fixtures at the World Cup, regardless of the temperature, has also sparked controversy.

When FIFA unveiled the rule in December, it claimed that players would “benefit from three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games as FIFA prioritises player welfare” due to the heat.

Players, coaches, fans and pundits have criticised the move for disrupting matches and for effectively splitting the game into four quarters rather than two halves – especially as many games have not been played under overly hot conditions.

“New York, California and Miami, as well as the Mexican stadiums, have been hot enough, but there’s no justification for breaks at the air-conditioned arenas like Dallas, Houston, Atlanta or Vancouver,” senior meteorologist Everton Fox told Al Jazeera.

“I know FIFA claim to have done this across all games to be consistent,” Fox said. “But it’s hard to see it as anything other than a commercial venture worth millions of dollars in advertising to the US TV channels, if not billions, globally.”

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