Trump Envoy Asked FIFA's Italian President to Replace Iran's Soccer Team With Italy's in the World Cup

Not content to meddle with college football in America, Donald Trump sees himself as a kind of king of the world entitled to dictate the terms of global athletics. Hence the news that he tried to fix the World Cup soccer championship in a weird attempt to ingratiate himself with the Italians. You can’t make this stuff up.

The Washington Post reports:

Paolo Zampolli, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump who is now serving as U.S. special envoy for global partnerships, has suggested that Italy replace Iran in this year’s World Cup, the quadrennial soccer tournament, which will be held starting in June in the United States, Mexico and Canada. …

Zampolli, in an interview with The Washington Post on Thursday, confirmed he had “recently” planted that idea with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, arguing that it would be “good for everybody” if Italy took Iran’s place. Zampolli said he also passed on the suggestion to Trump, who has said Iranian players are “welcome” while also calling Iran’s participation not “appropriate.” …

One person familiar with the overtures who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations said the outreach appeared to be aimed less at Italy’s politicians and more at currying favor with the Italian people—who have traditionally been seen as more pro-American than many Europeans, but more recently have soured on Washington, especially during the unpopular Iran war. …

Luciano Bonfiglio, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, told reporters that “first of all, I don’t think it’s possible, and secondly, I’d feel offended. One needs to deserve going to the World Cup.” …

Trump has repeatedly inserted himself into what is typically the domain of FIFA and local organizing bodies, at times blurring the lines between sport and politics.

If the name Paolo Zampolli sounds familiar, that’s because he’s the guy who got ICE to deport the mother of his child to settle a custody dispute. In the Trump administration, it’s corruption all the way through, and they regard this as so normal they think everyone will just accept it while they openly rig the world’s biggest sports competition.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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