World Cup CHAOS? Everything going wrong so far

Is the World Cup in chaos?It's all kicking off and the tournament hasn't even started yet.

The greatest tournament in the world.Is this how the hosts behave?

Backroom staff and a referee barred from entering the US.Teams subjected to sniffer dogs and metal detectors on the tarmac.But not every team.

Something like this has never happened for a World Cup before.Not even in police states like Qatar and Russia.

Many international fans haven't even got there yet and some have had their visas revoked.But this is still the World Cup and the excitement is massive.So why is this World Cup different to ones that have gone before?Will the noise pipe down once games start?Or is this set to be a World Cup remembered for all the wrong reasons?Here's the breakdown.

The November World Cup is billed as an international festival of football, bringing people together from all over the globe to celebrate their countries on the pitch.But this year, the competition is caught up in President Trump's strict US border rules, and not everyone is welcome.There are 39 countries with a full or partial US travel ban under Trump's administration.Iran, Haiti, Cote d 'Ivoire and Senegal are all playing in the World Cup, despite featuring on the list.Democratic Republic of Congo is not on it, but has been placed under restrictions because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.The USA's war with Iran has affected the Iranian team as they travel to North America.

They've already had to move their training base from America to Mexico and say they'll have to commute into the States on the day of their games.And Iran's football body claims FIFA revoked its ticket allocation for their group stage matches.The US State Department says the necessary visas have been issued and they will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.Another World Cup country on the travel ban list is Senegal.They faced security measures on the tarmac when they landed in the US.Elsewhere, the Uzbekistan team was inspected by sniffer dogs when they arrived at a stadium in New York for a friendly.

Amid accusations that the U .S.has been hostile to its international visitors, New York's Democratic Mayor, Zoha Mandani, released a welcome video.

Remember that we're all neighbors, so please treat everyone who's working hard to make your visit special with respect.And they'll return the favor.

These restrictions haven't only affected teams.Somalian referee Omar Abulkadir Artan was selected by FIFA as one of the World Cup's 52 refs.But he was refused entry to the USA over vetting concerns.

And I wanted to thank FIFA for supporting me all the way and Somali people also.

He says he was given an 11 hour immigration grilling before being sent back to Turkey where his flight had come from.Somalia is on Trump's travel ban list and the administration has pushed for Somali deportations in the past.FIFA found ways to bypass national immigration rules for ticket holders at the last three World Cups in Brazil, Russia and Qatar.But this time seems different.They have distanced themselves from the Artan decision confirming he will not referee in the competition and saying they do not get involved in host country immigration processes.From ticket prices and a water bottle ban u -turn to visa issues and security concerns, a messy stage has been set for football's biggest event.

Controversies are now piling up as the World Cup curtain is about to be raised.Some have called this a World Cup of chaos.And critics say Trump has made the US a hostile environment for certain teams and fans.So are these strict security checks and visa restrictions normal?Are they fair?And how unusual is all of this compared to other World Cups?

Well, to help answer those questions, I'm going to bring in Miguel Delaney.He's the chief football correspondent from The Independent and is in New Jersey covering the World Cup.Miguel, great to speak to you.You're in New Jersey, aren't you?What's going on there?

Well, there is a bit of World Cup atmosphere.I took a walk around New York last night, and obviously there's kind of iconography everywhere.There is a buzz.You see a lot of shirts.We are actually about 15 minutes away from MetLife Stadium, where the final will be held.And yeah, it's just, I suppose, it's one of many places where anticipation is building.

There's talk it's not building everywhere, but I suppose that speaks to one of the issues with this World Cup, given just the sheer scale of it, the size of it.I'm in New Jersey, which is obviously where the final is going to be held.And yet the main event this week feels like, well, there's two in Mexico City, one being Gianni Infantino's opening press conference, his equivalent of the IFEEL in Qatar, and obviously the opening game between Mexico and South Africa.

But before we got to all of that, we've had so many viral moments already.Let's talk about the Somalian referee.What's gone on?with that and what have you heard?

a 20 -year career or so in African football, who is considered one of the most accomplished referees on the continent.Somehow, after what you would presume is a long, or at least what should be, a long vetting process by FIFA, where all of this is heralded, where they're supposed to be in dialogue with the hosts about exactly this, he somehow is in a situation where he actually gets to the point of entry in the United States.is forced into long interviews and is then turned away.bad actors, as he put it, which are pretty extraordinary claims to throw out, especially with no evidence.And when he was asked for evidence, I think by some news reporters, he said he couldn't provide any.It's difficult not to put this story in a wider context, obviously about general United States immigration policies, but also more specifically with the Trump administration, where A, there has been an executive order which has been colloquially referred to as the Muslim ban.

And so far, all of the countries that have faced issues with this workup have been Muslim countries.And also, his own public attitude to Somalia and some of the, frankly, disgraceful things he has said about the country and migrants from the country.And you know, Arshad himself said in an interview with the New York Times, you know, he felt it was about his country.It's an embarrassing situation for FIFA, especially because one of the contractual provisions for a World Cup is always, I mean, and just to, I suppose, make this so clear, I think it's a point worth stressing, something like this has never happened for a World Cup before, not even in police states like Qatar and Russia.And here you have this story, which is, I suppose, the headline out of a series of them.I mean, the Senegal team, they

were forced into, or subjected to a tarmac search.This hasn't happened in the past because as part of the agreement to host the World Cup, there are contractual provisions, and this is in FIFA's own literature, that you have to have guarantees, and that's a very specific quote, about entry, about visas, and as Infantino himself said in 2017, you can't have a World Cup without the participants there.But I think it's just another sign of how this World Cup isn't fully in FIFA's control.It obviously raises questions on the very craven relationship that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has with Donald Trump and opens up a lot of other questions while also kind of creating just one other kind of, you know, more negative aspect around a tournament that is ultimately supposed to be a global party.

Well, the Trump administration have said this is because that there are strict checks in place, national security concerns as well.That's what you would expect the US to say.And they do have the right about who they let in their country, ultimately.

But there is another layer to this, because this isn't about kind of a...So one of FIFA's defenses in all this has been, oh, we can't dictate national laws and no one would want us to have that power anyway.But this isn't the cause effect response thing.This is why it's so important that he was allowed to somehow in a situation where he actually ended up going to America only to be turned away.I mean, it's not like this is something that just dropped out of the sky.These are supposed to come from discussions over years.

This World Cup has been in place for since 2018.Trump himself has previously spoken about everyone being allowed in.And again, it's impossible to detach all of security concerns from the attitude of this Trump administration, how it's evolved over time, which is, of course, linked to how this World Cup itself could be used as a projection of Trump -slash -MAGA ideology.

You will have seen Ian Wright's viral video talking about this.Obviously, really, really upset and it's hit a nerve amongst fans.What did you make of it?

Yeah, I thought Ray was spot on.A lot of the issues around this World Cup, I mean, especially the way you pointed out, because the cost is one thing and everyone's spending a fortune to be here, which has already created a sour note about attending something that is supposed to be so joyous.And then on top of that, given that cost, given what people are investing, you just have kind of bad news story or dark news story after dark news story.Because of course, I mean, something else is unprecedented around this World Cup is we have this situation, again, this has never happened before, where a host nation is actually at war and has engaged in acts of aggression against a participant nation, which is Iran.And I feel it's, there's so many times when I've been writing about this tournament over the last year and a half, because usually as a journalist with with international tournaments, you kind of, you start properly discussing the issues when the qualification starts.And in this case, it was March, 2025.

And since then, there've been so many times where I've been writing things like this isn't, this is unprecedented.This has never happened in the world before.I mean, there are multiple examples.And in that, I mean, it was something that right, you touched upon as well.The US hasn't necessarily been talked of in the way that Qatar has been talked of.I would say.

That's correct, though, because they are different tournaments to drop different issues.I mean, ultimately, for all the for all the kind of many controversies and justified kind of moral indignation about this World Cup, it doesn't have an issue central to the tournament, central to the staging of a tournament like Qatar's use of migrant labor that was criticized as slave labor.But it doesn't need to be the same or worse or better to have so many fundamental problems.It has problems of its own and they are many.

Let's talk about Iran specifically.Iran are going to be playing thegoing to be commuting into the United States, which also seems odd or unusual.What impact will that have on the psyche of the players?The psychology of the staff, do you think?Or will it have an impact?

Will they just go in and think, I'm just going to do my best.And that's all there is to it.

Sometimes in these situations, it can produce a determination in teams, a resolve.But the fact of the matter is they should be put in this situation because it's a disadvantage.And this is how, like, some of the kind of the non -football issues around this tournament could actually affect the football of this tournament, because Iran are at an obvious disadvantage to the other teams.And even so, while the players are allowed in, some of the staff have been denied visas.And that means, like, in a in a moment that is very emotionally testing for these players, leaving aside even their own complicated feelings about their own state.And the 2022 World Cup actually featured the example where With what you've just said, Is this World Cup fair?

I mean, look, you can't push, look to the disadvantages.Like Senegal, I mean, Senegal and Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan were also subjected to searches.Senegal are a team that are considered a potential kind of outsider that could go really far in this tournament.And they've come into it kind of with their experience already soured, feeling, I mean, you can forgive them feeling humiliated, feeling angry about it.And again, it puts them at a disadvantage.So in the question of fairness, well, I mean, I suppose it's obvious that some teams are not being treated like other teams.

With that, there are some federations.So these groups that kind of back all of these different countries from African and Asianteams that are saying they're getting targeted more than European teams.Do you think that's true?

Well, I mean, it's of a piece, basically, with the Trump administration's international outlook.And it's exactly the same as, say, with how a Trump executive order was called the Muslim ban.It all follows on from that.And yeah, it's hard not to see an obvious discrepancy.

Fans haven't even got there yet.Will this potentially kick off even more if they have tickets, don't get access, they're turned away at the border?Do you sense that that could happen?

Well, this is the great uncertainty about this competition, or maybe the biggest question going into it, because USA 94, FIFA and US Soccer are still crawling at the fact it was the best attended World Cup ever.Is that going to happen this time?Are we going to see the same atmosphere?I mean, the costs already put a Seren out.but also allied to the cause.We have all sorts of anecdotal evidence about how fans from certain countries weren't going to go because of the wait for visas.

Let's see what happens when fans actually try to arrive for games.Will the atmosphere be the same?And again, atmosphere does affect performance.It has an influence on it.And I mean, an ally to whatever, but even kind of fans getting into the country.Does it suppose the potential profile of the crowd, if it's only kind of like Infantino and FIFA have talked a lot about American entertainment culture?

Well, if it's only kind of passive consumers of football, rather than people who are, who've been waiting years to experience kind of a moment they've always wanted, their team in a World Cup, that obviously creates a different atmosphere for a tournament.

Can we just see empty stadiums and no atmosphere?because people are going to be either watching football or basketball, whatever else they're used to in the US instead.And they can't really be bothered with the World Cup.Is that what we're going to see?

Again, this is where Allied to cost, the very size of the World Cup is an issue.And it's almost likeYou know, it is a classic case of more is less.There's almost too many games, too much kind of attracting interest.And yeah, I do think it will be a case where there are certain matches where we will have swathes of empty seats, ultimately because it is the World Cup.The biggest teams and the biggest games are still going to be packed.

And look, people, this is what FIFA are ultimately capitalizing on, that people will be willing to pay whatever it takes to get into those matches.So I think it's going to be a bit of a split World Cup in that sense.Some of it will be embarrassing for FIFA.Some of it, they'll be delighted with the interest and the money that comes in.

Miguel, I've got to ask you about the actual football.What do you think is going to happen?What games are you excited about and who are you rooting for?

Well, I so I think the tournament is going to be distorted by its size.And that's, I mean, especially on the back of how exhausting the last two, I mean, so this is the first tournament that's happened after the Champions League expanded.So that's going to create a lot of fatigue.We can already see when Arsenal won the title this season, a lot of the talk was how players like Declan Rice, Martin Zupemendi are exhausted.So from that, I would say that Spain are the best team in the competition, and they're obviously already the European champions.In normal circumstances, I think they would win it, but I don't think these are normal circumstances.

I think this is a World Cup with more variables than any other.A lot of the Spanish players go in exhausted.They've had more injuries than a lot of the top sides.Lamine Yamal is just hoping to get back to fitness for when it starts.They've lost Firmin Lopez to a metatarsal.France are next after, I'd say, at least in terms of talent, but their questions over the team.

And then after that, I would say the team with the next best chance are England, who Really?I think England have got a really strong chance.It's not a perfect squad, but then no team in the competition is perfect.I think it's quite the field.The ceiling isn't as high as another World Cup.It's not like France 98 when there's seven or eight teams that are really at the top level.

This is a bit more disparate, but I would put England maybe just below France or Spain, but I think the course of the tournament, the circumstances could end up playing into England's favour.There are still issues.I mean, the biggest remains that like Spain have two players like, like heat is going to be so crucial to this tournament and be able to keep the ball and keep possession in order to conserve energy.Spain have Rodri and Dumendi.England don't really have anyone like that.And that's the sort of thing that could have effect as the tournament goes on.

What do you, I didn't ask you that.What do you make of the climate issues and the water breaks and stuff like that?How much will that impact?How much will that impact the teams and how much will that impact the games?

So this is something we've written a lot about with The Independent.There's a lot of scientific studies about how FIFA's threshold for what would require intervention is too high.that a lot of, in fact, there was a letter from Dockers to FIFA saying the policy was unjustifiable.And that could mean that a lot of games are going to be taking place in really stifling heat.So as a basic example, Thomas Tuchel went into his England job talking about how he wanted an intense, pressing Premier League style.Then he got to the Club World Cup in America last year and realised this is impossible.

So they have to play in a different way.So it is, again, it's just another issue that's going to manifestly affect how it's played.

But that's going to ruin the beautiful game, no?

I wouldn't say necessarily ruin it.I think it'll just create a different type of tournament.So USA 94, which is played in similar conditions, it was considered, you know, this great festival of attacking football.The only thing is, by the end of that tournament, and it was played in different circumstances as regards kind of the calendar, by the end of the tournament, teams like Brazil even were fatigued.So I think this is going to be a slower tournament with more decided by individual moments.I think there will be a few teams like Austria who will be really exciting early on.

and play really high pressing football.But then because of that, once it gets to kind of where it matters, they'll run out of energy.

Because temperature wise, what are we talking here?

But it depends where you play as well.So I'll be going to England, Croatia next week, and that would be in conditions of like 34, 35 degrees, except one of the reasons that Dallas was chosen to play to host this game is because it's an indoor arena, hence they can play in more favourable conditions, but also have it on primetime TV in the UK.

I wish you the best of luck covering the tournament in what has been such a busy World Cup already.It hasn't even started yet.

Cheers, thank you.

That's the Breakdown.Thanks for watching.See you next time.