Council of Europe, FIFA and Alain Berset
Sunday before the World Cup final
Europe’s top human rights body has questioned the integrity of the World Cup and urged FIFA to build stronger safeguards for 2030. Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset cited money, power and political pressure as major concerns.
Berset pointed to FIFA suspending Folarin Balogun’s ban after Donald Trump contacted Gianni Infantino, plus risks around prediction-market sponsorship. His open letter increases governance pressure on FIFA before the next tournament cycle.