Soccer fans booed US President Donald Trump on Sunday as he handed trophies to Chelsea, the winning team, following the FIFA Club World Cup’s final.
On Sunday, Trump entered New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium during Chelsea’s stunning 3-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain, and sustained his presence throughout the awarding celebration.
The crowd had already been informed about his expected presence, which saw him attend a VIP suite next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, appear on the jumbotron during the US national anthem, and barge into the trophy awarding event.
This, however, did not go down well with either the spectators or the players by almost any measure, turning his overall presence into what critics described as an uncalled-for intervention.
The crowd responded with sustained boos, and Chelsea’s players appeared visibly shocked to receive the trophy from him.
The match’s shock result that had seen PSG suffer the resounding defeat at the hands of Chelsea’s underdogs was also heavily understated by Trump, who sufficed to call it “a little bit of a setback.”
“[FIFA has done] fantastically well, it’s a growing sport, it’s a great sport,” he also added in, what appeared to be, a very generic, poorly-informed, and vague description.
Even Chelsea star Cole Palmer seemed baffled by the unexpected presence of the US president, who appeared to be completely out of place among the celebrating players.
“Wait, wait, what’s he doing?” Palmer asked captain Reece James just before the title ceremony.
‘Are you going to leave?’
Equally puzzled, James turned to Trump moments before lifting the golden-globed trophy, and asked, “Are you going to leave?”
Speaking separately after the event, he also said, “I thought he was going to exit the stage — but he wanted to stay.”
Trump, however, smiled and clapped along with the players until Infantino saved more embarrassment by gently ushering him off the stage.
The reactions from some social media users have been much more scathing of Trump’s behavior for putting himself in the middle of the celebrations.
Observers described the overall situation as a publicity stunt aimed at “sportwashing” the numerous instances of outrage that have been triggered throughout the world as a result of the US’s increased military adventurism and aggressive policies under Trump.
They cited Washington’s expanding military interventionism, unprecedented support for the Israeli regime’s widespread deadly atrocities, and egregiously hostile trade policies towards various countries as cases in point.