Amnesty director Dagmar Oudshoorn warns US visa policy discriminates
Amnesty Netherlands director Dagmar Oudshoorn says the United States' visa policy discriminates against non‑Western visitors ahead of the World Cup. She warns that existing missteps jeopardise the tournament's reputation.
A top referee from Somalia was denied entry to the United States. An Iraqi striker was held for seven hours by US border police. Iranian supporters have been told they are no longer welcome at the World Cup.
Social‑media video shows players of the Senegalese national team being searched from head to toe upon arrival in the United States. The Uzbek national team was inspected with dogs before a friendly against the Netherlands. Uzbek coach Fabio Cannavaro said the inspection applied only to his squad.
It remains unclear whether Dutch players underwent similar searches. The Royal Dutch Football Association has not responded to inquiries.
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will feature 48 nations, the largest edition to date. Three quarters of the 104 matches scheduled over the next five weeks will be played in the United States, with Canada and Mexico hosting fewer games.
The Netherlands will open its group stage on Sunday at 22:00 against Japan. The final is set for 19 July in New York.
Jurist and America expert Kenneth Manusama says the tournament offers the United States a chance to boost its international image. He adds that the past eighteen months of US immigration policy have targeted people of colour.
President Trump fears that fans will remain in the country after the tournament and therefore maintains strict immigration rules, including entry and visa bans, with no World Cup exception. Manusama warns that ICE agents could patrol around eleven stadiums and randomly detain non‑white fans, a practice he calls discriminatory.
Compared with the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the United States faces criticism for potential deportations and visa refusals rather than construction‑related deaths. Manusama notes that tickets for Iranian supporters have been withdrawn and that thousands of tickets remain unsold, raising concerns about half‑empty stadiums.
FIFA's new human‑rights policy requires each of the sixteen host cities to publish concrete protection plans for journalists, immigrants and LGBT people, but only four cities have done so, three of them in the United States. Oudshoorn says ICE is absent from those protocols, leaving no safety guarantees for fans, players, immigrants and journalists, and argues FIFA is not complying with its own policy.