The crowd at the 2026 World Cup Final booed when U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino walked onto the pitch to present the tournament’s trophy to Spain.
Much of the crowd booed when Trump and Infantino walked onto the pitch together to present the FIFA World Cup trophy to Spain. We cannot independently verify how much of the booing was for one man or the other, or for both together.
In July 2026, Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium just outside of New York City. Following the game, U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared together to present Spain with the tournament’s trophy.
Based on television coverage of the ceremony, some people on social media claimed the crowd erupted in boos at the sight of Trump walking out with Infantino. For example, one Instagram post (archived) said, “Donald Trump was just booed again by the entire stadium at the World Cup Finals as he and FIFA’s president walked onto the pitch.”
The claim was shared on Reddit (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Instagram (archived), among other platforms. Snopes readers searched the site and sent us emails wondering if the claim was true.
Video and audio evidence confirm that a sizable portion of the crowd booed when they saw Trump and Infantino walk onto the pitch. However, we couldn’t confirm whether the boos were directed at Trump, Infantino or both men.
Both Trump and Infantino angered soccer fans after FIFA lifted the one-match ban on U.S. player Folarin Balogun following a phone call between Infantino and Trump — a decision many felt smacked of favoritism.
The crowd could be seen and heard booing at about the
That same moment was visible in Fox Sports’ broadcast. During a clip of the trophy ceremony alone uploaded to YouTube by Fox, the crowd made little noise at the 0:48 mark. When Trump and Infantino started walking onto the pitch a couple of seconds later, the crowd noise increased, with audible boos and whistles.
In a video recorded from the stands and uploaded to YouTube by The Washington Post, the most dominant sound is booing from the attendees closest to the camera.
The Athletic, The Guardian and Reuters reported that Trump and Infantino were booed at the same time as they approached the site of the trophy ceremony. Reuters reported the booing faded away as Trump and Infantino handed out medals to the players and coaches shortly before awarding the trophy to Spain.
Snopes has previously fact-checked other claims that Trump was booed at sporting events he attended. While there was a mixture of boos and cheers for Trump at the 2025 Super Bowl and a 2025 Washington Commanders game, Trump was overwhelmingly booed when he attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2026.
