Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew is Trump’s man for FIFA.Image: keystone
There could also be raids by the immigration authorities ICE at the Football World Cup in the USA next year. Trump’s FIFA man draws comparisons with the German national team.
December 4, 2025, 10:45 amDecember 4, 2025, 10:45 am
FIFA White House representative Andrew Giuliani has not ruled out the possibility that fans at World Cup matches will be detained by ICE immigration officials.
When asked about this, the son of Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and lawyer for US President Donald Trump, said:
“I have known the president for 25 years. “The President is not ruling out anything that will help increase the safety of American citizens.”
Andrew Giuliani
At the press conference in Washington, Giuliani compared the German national team’s defense with the security measures of the USA. Germany has a very, very strong defense. “We like to think that their football defense is like the national security of the USA, a strong defense that is very difficult to overcome.»
Swiss fans can register online
Giuliani was confident that many Germans would come to the World Cup. «We know that the Germans travel wherever the World Cup is taking place. They will certainly be at this year’s World Cup. They will probably go far in the tournament.”
The White House FIFA representative pointed out that Germans do not need a visa to enter the country.
Swiss and Germans can generally submit a so-called Esta application (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) online. This is a program that allows citizens to stay in the United States for vacations, for example, without a visa.
However, Esta applications are not possible if you were in one of the following countries on or after March 1, 2011:
- North Korea
- Iran
- Iraq
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Yemen
- Cuba (on or after January 12, 2021)
Anyone who loses the opportunity to apply for an Esta for this reason must apply for a regular US visa.
Have you traveled to Isfahan? Then there’s no more Esta for you.Image: E+
Questions about immigration problems
At the press conference, Giuliani had to face many questions about possible immigration problems, whether fans would be stopped at the border because they might have taken part in protests or posted something critical on Facebook or X. The White House FIFA representative did not explicitly address this.
He simply said, it is not true that Trump does not welcome immigrants. He only said that he wanted to ensure that people could enter the United States legally.
“In this way we can also ensure that the games and other events are safe.”
Andrew Giuliani
Giuliani announced that fans requiring a visa could expect their application to be processed much more quickly than normal. In 2023, visitors from Brazil had to wait another year for their visa, now it’s two months. In general, anyone who has a ticket will go to the front of the queue when the visa is issued.
(rbu/dpa)