Europe's foremost human rights organisation has launched a stinging public attack on FIFA's stewardship of the 2026 World Cup, warning that political interference, unchecked betting markets and a lack of transparency have thrown the integrity of football's premier tournament into serious doubt — and that urgent action is needed before the 2030 edition kicks off.
The Council of Europe's secretary general, Swiss politician Alain Berset, published an open letter to FIFA just hours before Sunday's final between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey, declaring that the tournament had raised "question after question" — questions he warned would outlast the final whistle.
"The celebration will end tonight. The questions will not," Berset wrote, calling for "a working dialogue that starts tonight, to build the integrity framework of the 2030 World Cup before it is played."
Political pressure on the pitch
At the centre of Berset's concerns was the decision by FIFA to suspend a mandatory one-game ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun — a move that came after US President Donald Trump personally contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review of the sanction.
Balogun had received a red card and faced an automatic suspension that would have ruled him out of a crucial quarterfinal against Belgium. After Trump's intervention, the ban was lifted, allowing Balogun to play. Belgium went on to win that match 4–1, eliminating the host nation from the tournament.
"The sanction suspended mid-tournament came after a head of state called the president of FIFA," Berset wrote. "When the rules bend under pressure, every result is open to doubt."
"Political influence has also moved onto the field," he added — a pointed remark from a man who has himself twice served as president of Switzerland, the country FIFA calls home.
European football's governing body UEFA had already condemned the Balogun ruling, describing it as having "crossed a red line" in the sport's rule of law. Adding to the controversy, FIFA has not released any documents explaining the reasoning behind the decision by its disciplinary judge — who is from the United Arab Emirates.
'An open door to fraud': The prediction market controversy
Berset also trained his fire on FIFA's commercial arrangements, singling out the governing body's decision to sign ADI Predictstreet as an official World Cup sponsor in a deal reportedly worth $US150 million ($215 million). The Abu Dhabi-backed company had been formally incorporated just one week before the agreement was struck in April.
Prediction markets allow punters to wager not merely on match outcomes but on individual in-game events — every pass, every card, every corner — including "moments a single player can produce without changing the score," as Berset put it. Critics argue this model effectively rewards insider trading, and Berset was unequivocal in his assessment.
"It is an open door to fraud," he wrote. "And this World Cup has opened the door wider."
FIFA also holds a number of other commercial arrangements with the broader gambling industry for this tournament, further amplifying the Council of Europe's concerns about the sport's exposure to corruption risk.
A relationship under strain
The Council of Europe's decision to go public with its criticisms is particularly striking given that the 46-nation body — which created the European Convention on Human Rights and has a formal mandate to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law — has a longstanding working agreement with FIFA.
That memorandum of understanding was signed by Infantino himself in 2018, at which time he declared the two organisations shared "common values and goals: transparency, accountability, integrity, safety in sport and respect for human rights." Berset and Infantino met again as recently as 2024 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Council of Europe has a substantial history of engagement with football governance — it drew up a treaty in the 1980s to improve safety at football matches and has since created conventions on both anti-doping and match-fixing.
In his letter, Berset catalogued a broader list of failures he said had marred the first 48-team, 104-game World Cup: referee authority being openly questioned, racist abuse of players by elected officials, and the normalisation of granular in-play betting across the tournament.
"A sanction suspended under pressure, within days, with no reasons given," he wrote, encapsulating what he characterised as a systemic erosion of the standards FIFA had publicly committed to uphold.
Eyes turn to 2030
The next men's World Cup will be held primarily in Spain and Portugal, with matches also scheduled across three continents in 2030 — an unprecedented logistical undertaking that Berset suggested makes a robust integrity framework even more essential.
"The next crisis has already begun," he wrote. "It has two names: money and power."
Berset's call is for immediate, structured dialogue between FIFA and the Council of Europe to establish clear integrity standards before the 2030 tournament begins — not after the first controversies emerge. "Tonight, the final whistle will end the tournament," he concluded. "Let it also open the third half and the urgent work of strengthening the integrity of sport."
FIFA is yet to respond publicly to the Council of Europe's letter.
