PRESIDENT Donald Trump claimed that FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, could simply move World Cup matches away from cities he deems too dangerous to host.
This comes in the wake of a rise in “street takeovers” which have seen Boston police officers attacked and a police cruiser engulfed in flames.
Street takeovers are events in which large groups of people gather in the road to drive recklessly and perform donuts in their cars.
When asked about working with Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, to resolve these street takeovers, the US President said:
“I think she is hurting Boston. If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni (Infantino), the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say: ‘let’s move it to another location.’ and he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.”
“She’s intelligent but she’s radical left and they’re taking over parts of Boston. That’s a pretty big statement right? We could get them back in about two seconds.”
Trump has no lawful jurisdiction to change a hosting city, but can pressure FIFA into making the move.
Boston are set to host seven matches, including one quarter-final, at the 65,000 capacity Boston stadium in Massachusetts.
Wu indirectly responded to Trump’s comments stating:
“Boston is honoured and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of liberty and city of champions.”
Watch a summary of the story and Donald Trump’s quotes below.
