Gary Neville and Ian Wright pulled no punches with their assessment on how co-hosts United States have handled the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. The duo were on punditry duty for ITV ahead of the opening match between Mexico and South Africa at the Azteca Stadium.
Mexico are one of three North American co-hosts, along with Canada and the States, and it is the US that have come under the most criticism so far. From ticket prices to the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, and most recently, the decision to ban Somali referee Omar Artan from entering the country.
Commenting on the build-up, Wright remarked: “I have spoken about the spirit of football and all the things that come with the spirit of the game. I think here, they have got no idea and clue of the spirit of the game and what is happening and what’s happened. Then you look also at people who keep saying things like keep saying things like ‘keep politics out of sport’. What are they saying now?”
Meanwhile, Neville added: “That to me is ridiculous the fact that the referee is not able to come into this country. He’s a FIFA referee and someone who has been lauded as someone who is the very best. You have that statue over your shoulder, the Statue of Liberty. I don’t think he will be feeling like that now.
“When you host a World Cup you are giving over your land to the world of football for four, to five, to six weeks. We need tolerance and people who can accept everybody comes from a different part of the world and that’s not happened here.”
The referee Artan, who has been described as the best official from Africa, will get his moment in the spotlight, albeit not at the World Cup. That’s because UEFA announced on Thursday afternoon that Artan had been appointed as the referee for August’s Super Cup final between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain.
A US government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”. Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list that was introduced by President Donald Trump.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino bigged up his relationship with Trump during Wednesday’s pre-tournament press conference. He said: “I have a great relationship with President Trump. I’m very happy about that. I got to know him during his first mandate and we have been working very closely together now in this second term. Without his engagement and involvement, I think it would have been, simple as that, impossible to organise a World Cup in the United States.”
