DONALD TRUMP doubled down on his threat to switch World Cup matches away from “unsafe” cities.
The US president first raised the prospect of stripping games from San Francisco and Seattle last month – and has put fellow Democrat stronghold Boston in the same ballpark.
Now Republican Trump turned up the heat on Gianni Infantino by saying the Fifa boss WILL move games if he asks him to.
Trump, who says he could also strip Los Angeles of the 2028 Olympics, said: “If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of Fifa, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, ‘let’s move it to another location’.
“And he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily. He’d do it and this is the right time to do it.
“I could say the same thing for the Olympics. If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location.
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“If I had to move on that one, I’d probably have to get a different kind of a permission, but we would do that.”
Two weeks ago, Fifa vice-president, Canada’s Victor Montagliani, attempted to play down the idea of a forced change of venues.
Fifa could be facing compensation claims adding up to millions of pounds from affected cities if they lost games.
On a visit to London, Montagliani pointed out: “Fifa makes those decisions. With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them and football will survive their regime and their government and their slogans.”
But Infantino, who has made a show of his relationship with Trump – and was alongside the US President in Egypt when the Gaza-Israel peace accord was signed on Monday – is walking a tightrope.
The draw for the World Cup finals on December 5, planned for Las Vegas, was switched to Washington DC after a demand from Trump.
Fifa chief Infantino is reluctant to criticise or dismiss any White House statements, although Zurich bosses did hint that no change of schedule is envisaged.
A Fifa spokesperson told SunSport: “Safety and security are the top priorities at all Fifa events worldwide.
“Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.
“We hope every one of our 16 Host Cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements.”
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