Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, said the Trump administration will deny entry to individuals accused of fostering antisemitism abroad when the FIFA World Cup arrives in June.
The move casts the tournament as a venue where foreign conduct, not just travel paperwork, would determine who gets in.
Kaploun framed the policy as an individualized screening process rather than a categorical ban, pushing back against a Euractiv report suggesting the United States would specifically target European politicians.
"Everybody is judged as an individual," he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, calling entry into the country "a privilege" and "not a right." His office, he said, would scrutinize officials on both the right and the left who promote antisemitism.
The envoy first outlined the approach this week at a European Jewish Association conference in Brussels, where he said Washington was "holding countries accountable for ministers who are saying things, and they are not being allowed into the country."
Euractiv first reported those remarks and characterized them as a warning to European officials; Kaploun disputed the framing while leaving the underlying enforcement posture intact.
The mechanism is visa and admissibility discretion, not a new statute.
Kaploun named no targets and cited no formal list, declining to detail enforcement steps beyond saying the administration could take measures the secretary of state and president deem necessary.
He pointed to two categories of conduct that could trigger exclusion: people tied to last year's street violence in Amsterdam that injured Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, and those involved in Aston Villa Football Club's October decision to bar Maccabi supporters from a match in England.
Those responsible, he said, "aren't welcome to come to the United States of America."
The tournament itself, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19, will field 48 teams, the largest in FIFA history. Iran, Turkey, and South Africa have qualified. Israel did not, after losing in qualifying competition last year amid a UEFA push to suspend its federation.
The admissibility posture is accompanied by a markedly looser stance toward participating squads.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Wednesday at CNBC's Invest in America Forum that the Iranian team was "coming for sure."
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA World Cup task force, told Politico on Thursday that the administration expects the team to arrive by June 10 for a training camp in Tucson, Arizona, followed by group-stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Giuliani also said a pre-tournament friendly between Iran and Puerto Rico remains on track, with the task force focused on visa logistics.
The juxtaposition sharpens the policy question.
The United States is signaling it will admit an Iranian national team amid what Politico described as an ongoing war with Tehran, while warning that foreign officials and fans tied to antisemitism abroad could be turned away.
President Donald Trump has previously veered on Iran's participation, telling Politico he did not care whether the team came, then suggesting it would be safer if it stayed home.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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