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Alain Berset, then a member of the Federal Council, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino before the Switzerland–Brazil game at the 2018 World Cup in Russia
Keystone
Former Federal Councilor Alain Berset, who has served as Secretary General of the Council of Europe since 2024, commented on the World Cup in an article titled “Before the Final Whistle.” His remarks are quite critical.
Right at the start of his remarks on the Council of Europe’s website (coe.int), Berset emphasizes that the greatest challenges facing sports have consistently required international cooperation and binding rules. Berset: “A World Cup final is a celebration that few other events can match. This one feels unfinished. The 2026 FIFA World Cup has raised one question after another.”
“A sanction imposed under pressure and suspended within a few days without any explanation. The referees’ authority was called into question. Racist insults directed at players, some of them even from elected officials. Bets on every pass, every card, every corner kick. The party will end tonight. But the questions won’t. The next crisis has already begun. It has two names: money and power.”
Berset says that political influence has made its way onto the field—and is referring primarily to the “Balogun case.” Berset: “The suspension was lifted in the middle of the tournament after a head of state (Donald Trump) called the FIFA president (Gianni Infantino). When rules are bent under pressure, every result is questionable.”
The Council of Europe is offering its support to FIFA and notes that it has helped the sports world in the past. This is Berset’s proposal: “A third half. A constructive dialogue that begins immediately after the World Cup to develop the integrity framework for the 2030 World Cup.”
Berset: “When 39 people did not return home from Heysel Stadium in 1985, the Council of Europe and its member states responded within three months with a binding treaty to ensure spectator safety, which has since been further developed and signed by 39 states. When doping tainted the sport of track and field, we drafted the Council of Europe’s Anti-Doping Convention, which is now binding on 52 countries.”
Betting turnover is also a thorn in the side of the Council of Europe: Betting has shifted from the outcome of a game to moments that a single player can create without changing the score. Berset: “A bet that is won when others lose. That opens the door to fraud. The 2026 FIFA World Cup has pushed that door even wider open. For the first time, FIFA has welcomed a betting provider as an official partner—and even directly inside the stadiums.”
Berset and the Council of Europe hope that the integrity of the sport will be restored in the wake of this World Cup.
19.07.2026, 14:43
