Trump could ruin this 2026 world cup

[mccaughey85]

2 hours ago, GaryWood34 said:

I totally appreciate people are making the decision not to go. Their prerogative.

What I can’t stand is the people who tell others not to go. Not to enjoy themselves and enjoy life. 

What also really has annoyed me is the people who had no intention of going but are using this as the excuse not to go.

Every country has issues. You can barely pick a country now without controversy. The next Euros is basically in England - where do we start with reasons to boycott that? 

Whats wrong with England? It's literally one of the safest countries in the world.

[er yir macaroon]

33 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Absolutely. Everyone feels different and have their own red lines. I wouldn’t have gone to Quatar either had we qualified, it’s not just Trump , but appreciate many people will not feel as strong as I do and that football takes priority . 
Being in my early 60’s you have more chance than me of seeing another WC , but I remain optimistic! 😁

I'm gutted not to be going. It almost seems unthinkable that I've decided against but there are just too many negative factors for me. Pricing is certainly one of them and unfortunately that is going to be a problem just about anywhere nowadays. Money has ruined football and I'm getting more cynical by the year.

Full disclosure, if my best mate was still alive I'd probably have gone. He died over 3 years ago. Football is definitely about a bit of tribalism and when you lose one of your clan it really takes something away from it. We grew up scribbling our preferred Scotland teams in the back of our jotters and 40 years later we were still dreaming of footballing glory. Even if we won the world cup there'd certainly be mixed emotions. I know this is something everyone has to deal with (apart from the winning the world cup bit) but it's still a bit of an eye opener when it happens. 

[TDYER63]

35 minutes ago, er yir macaroon said:

I'm gutted not to be going. It almost seems unthinkable that I've decided against but there are just too many negative factors for me. Pricing is certainly one of them and unfortunately that is going to be a problem just about anywhere nowadays. Money has ruined football and I'm getting more cynical by the year.

Full disclosure, if my best mate was still alive I'd probably have gone. He died over 3 years ago. Football is definitely about a bit of tribalism and when you lose one of your clan it really takes something away from it. We grew up scribbling our preferred Scotland teams in the back of our jotters and 40 years later we were still dreaming of footballing glory. Even if we won the world cup there'd certainly be mixed emotions. I know this is something everyone has to deal with (apart from the winning the world cup bit) but it's still a bit of an eye opener when it happens. 

Initially I was gutted too . Over 20 yrs of supporting the team home and away and not to be going was hard, I almost caved in, but I have now come to terms with it and genuinely that feel for me I have made the right decision. Cost wise , its more the fact the piss is getting taken rather than the actual expense. I have learnt in life that if you can afford something you really want then go for it as you will regret it if you dont. But I dont like being ripped off. It might be my age, 20 yrs ago I doubt I would have given 2 hoots about the cost or the politics. 

I am sorry to hear about your friend. Did you go to games together just the 2 of you or in a group ? Hopefully if there are others in your group who aren’t going you can watch it together in Scotland and have a toast to your friend. Preferably after a win , unfortunately though I don’t think you have to worry about the emotions an actual WC win would create 🙂

I think everyone who goes will have a great time. I am not concerned about safety issues  I think that is being exaggerated , thats not why I am not going, its more a political thing. As has been mentioned , trouble can happen anywhere. FFS my husband got battered by the polis in Seville . He got caught up in a stramash when they grabbed 2 young guys and threw them to the ground for heehaw on the concourse. 

I hope you enjoy it wherever you are 🙂

[er yir macaroon]

Thanks, you too. I’ll still watch with mates but there’s a void there that can’t be filled. We went to lots of games at Hampden in our youth but lived in different countries for many years. Still messaged about Scotland most days though. 
Yeah, if it was just about the money I would find a way but there are a whole load of other factors this time round. Bring on Europe or South America for the next one, a proper football place. Maybe this summer if we make it to the next round we’ll be in Mexico or Canada but I’ve not really looked into that and probably not realistic as a last minute thing, but you never know…

[0Neils40yarder]

6 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said:

Everyone has this own views/stances. 

I'm not particularly comfortable with the money I've paid, nor the location but (maybe against my better judgement) i've bitten the bullet. 

I'm in my early 40s and never been to a WC. Might never get another chance. 

Others might differ but i'd regret not going. 

I literally gave it a thought for 4 or 5 minutes, and despite pressure from family members, I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money or stomach the thought of giving that money to that country.

That said, im gutted to be missing us at a WC and hope you have a great time

4 hours ago, mccaughey85 said:

Whats wrong with England? 

Its rammed full of cunts?

[DoonTheSlope]

On 4/27/2026 at 12:41 AM, Ally Bongo said:

 

A lot of hyperbolic bandwagon jumping horse shite

Dropping hotel prices happened in the immediate lead up to and throughout Germany too and as for feeling welcome there was the usual scaremongering tactics in the lead up to the Russian and Qatari world cups 

“You want to fly? You’ve got to pay. You want to sleep? You’ve got to pay. You want to travel to the stadium? You’ve got to pay”

That’s just how a society works (for working people anyway) Are you really expecting to get everything for free?

Also I’m not sure whether your post is relevant to thread either, but hey… Orange man bad!

[DoonTheSlope]

9 hours ago, GaryWood34 said:

Every country has issues. You can barely pick a country now without controversy. The next Euros is basically in England - where do we start with reasons to boycott that? 

 

7 hours ago, mccaughey85 said:

Whats wrong with England? It's literally one of the safest countries in the world.

 

3 hours ago, 0Neils40yarder said:

It’s rammed full of cunts?

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time  

[DoonTheSlope]

5 hours ago, TDYER63 said:

Initially I was gutted too . Over 20 yrs of supporting the team home and away and not to be going was hard, I almost caved in, but I have now come to terms with it and genuinely that feel for me I have made the right decision. Cost wise , its more the fact the piss is getting taken rather than the actual expense. I have learnt in life that if you can afford something you really want then go for it as you will regret it if you dont. But I dont like being ripped off. It might be my age, 20 yrs ago I doubt I would have given 2 hoots about the cost or the politics. 

I am sorry to hear about your friend. Did you go to games together just the 2 of you or in a group ? Hopefully if there are others in your group who aren’t going you can watch it together in Scotland and have a toast to your friend. Preferably after a win , unfortunately though I don’t think you have to worry about the emotions an actual WC win would create 🙂

I think everyone who goes will have a great time. I am not concerned about safety issues  I think that is being exaggerated , thats not why I am not going, its more a political thing. As has been mentioned , trouble can happen anywhere. FFS my husband got battered by the polis in Seville . He got caught up in a stramash when they grabbed 2 young guys and threw them to the ground for heehaw on the concourse. 

I hope you enjoy it wherever you are 🙂

Literally… 😉

[AAAfather]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/reports-of-cancelled-friendlies-add-to-uncertainty-for-iran-ahead-of-world-cup-2026/ar-AA21WrFD?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

Iran struggling to find warm up match opponents - are they going to pull out just before the World Cup?

Doing so really messes up the 8 third place qualifier maths and creates unfairness. 

[mccaughey85]

8 minutes ago, AAAfather said:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/reports-of-cancelled-friendlies-add-to-uncertainty-for-iran-ahead-of-world-cup-2026/ar-AA21WrFD?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

Iran struggling to find warm up match opponents - are they going to pull out just before the World Cup?

Doing so really messes up the 8 third place qualifier maths and creates unfairness. 

FIFA should have another country on stand by if they do pull out. 

[Alba78]

Not going. Breaks my heart. But not as much as some of the things the host country is doing to other countries and some of its own citizens at the moment. 

[DoonTheSlope]

https://news.sky.com/story/iranian-officials-denied-entry-into-canada-for-fifa-meeting-just-weeks-before-start-of-world-cup-13538253
 

💅🏻 💅🏻 💅🏻 

[Yosemite Sam]

18 hours ago, Alba78 said:

Not going. Breaks my heart. But not as much as some of the things the host country is doing to other countries and some of its own citizens at the moment. 

What are they doing to their own citizens?

[Ally Bongo]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgpxg03v57o

Iran demands guarantees for World Cup participation

That will be them not coming then

[AAAfather]

2 hours ago, Ally Bongo said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgpxg03v57o

Iran demands guarantees for World Cup participation

That will be them not coming then

This is my thinking. The US has acted horribly to them (whatever you think of their regime) and they want revenge.

The way to sabotage the tournament for Iran is to simply refuse to leave the dressing room on game day 1, giving no prior warning.  That messes up the calculations for 3rd place teams and makes the tournament lack integrity beyond just a political statement.  No time to call up a replacement nation.  Squabbles among the other 3rd place finishers.....Infantino will botch any attempt to maintain fairness as he will be thinking sponsorship contracts and TV rights refunds not sporting equality.  

This is not all in isolation of Scotland.  We are likely to finish 3rd and be affected by whatever maths fudge is put in place by Infantino. 

 

[thesaint]

34 minutes ago, AAAfather said:

This is my thinking. The US has acted horribly to them (whatever you think of their regime) and they want revenge.

The way to sabotage the tournament for Iran is to simply refuse to leave the dressing room on game day 1, giving no prior warning.  That messes up the calculations for 3rd place teams and makes the tournament lack integrity beyond just a political statement.  No time to call up a replacement nation.  Squabbles among the other 3rd place finishers.....Infantino will botch any attempt to maintain fairness as he will be thinking sponsorship contracts and TV rights refunds not sporting equality.  

This is not all in isolation of Scotland.  We are likely to finish 3rd and be affected by whatever maths fudge is put in place by Infantino. 

 

The us has acted horribly to them( whatever you think of their regime ).Maybe because of their regime surely??

[Leiper]

Unquestionably for me he’s ruined the feeling I’ve had for travelling to what is a dream trip to see your nation at a WC. 

I’ve got flights. My mate has secured me a ticket for the Haiti game, my pal said I can even stay with him and I’m still contemplating just saying f@ck it to the whole thing as I just get with chucking my money at the US right now given all that’s going on. Might just disappear to the highlands for a week and watch it all unfold in a wee boozer. Then again might still go 🤷‍♂️

I’ve been going to games since 1986 but really in quandary what to do about this trip. 

[DoonTheSlope]

8 hours ago, AAAfather said:

This is my thinking. The US has acted horribly to them (whatever you think of their regime) and they want revenge.

The way to sabotage the tournament for Iran is to simply refuse to leave the dressing room on game day 1, giving no prior warning.  That messes up the calculations for 3rd place teams and makes the tournament lack integrity beyond just a political statement.  No time to call up a replacement nation.  Squabbles among the other 3rd place finishers.....Infantino will botch any attempt to maintain fairness as he will be thinking sponsorship contracts and TV rights refunds not sporting equality.  

This is not all in isolation of Scotland.  We are likely to finish 3rd and be affected by whatever maths fudge is put in place by Infantino. 

 

It wouldn’t sabotage anything from a playing perspective. It would be a straight 3-0 win and 3 points awarded to the opposing team

It would upset are those in the stadium. It would also mess with the TV companies and to be honest for the way they’ve ruined the beautiful game for the match going fan and the competitiveness of the game that would please me ever so much

[Yosemite Sam]

16 hours ago, thesaint said:

The us has acted horribly to them( whatever you think of their regime ).Maybe because of their regime surely??

Exactly. Incredible how many folk don't seem to have any issue with their murderous regime

[vanderark14]

I predict everyone going will have a blast and it will be a decent world cup

 

[ger intae them]

6 minutes ago, Yosemite Sam said:

Exactly. Incredible how many folk don't seem to have any issue with their murderous regime

Thats the yank in you talking …… you don’t deal with cunts when it suits your own ends, you deal with cunts straight away.

[Yosemite Sam]

3 hours ago, ger intae them said:

Thats the yank in you talking …… you don’t deal with cunts when it suits your own ends, you deal with cunts straight away.

Like Obama did? Like Biden did? Iran has been a threat to the Western world for a very long time, eventually an administration had to intervene, the fact it was Trump has just got so many panties in a twist

Edited May 10 by Yosemite Sam

[Yosemite Sam]

3 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

I predict everyone going will have a blast and it will be a decent world cup

 

It totally will, of all the world cups we've missed out on, 94 USA was the one I really wished we'd been involved in, a phenomenal occasion 

[Squirrelhumper]

16 hours ago, Yosemite Sam said:

Exactly. Incredible how many folk don't seem to have any issue with their murderous regime

i've plenty of issues with it. 

My issue is America have done nothing to fix it and if anything, have made it worse. 

 

[Squirrelhumper]

12 hours ago, Yosemite Sam said:

Like Obama did? Like Biden did? Iran has been a threat to the Western world for a very long time, eventually an administration had to intervene, the fact it was Trump has just got so many panties in a twist

In what way has the intervention aided the Iranian people?

It's gained the Trump family a lot of money playing with the markets. Other than that, how have they made the situation better?