World Cup 2026 - A Swiss commentator exclaims: "This is the most commercial and politicized World Cup in history..."

After the Spain-Argentina final (1-0), Swiss journalist David Lemos concluded his World Cup coverage on Swiss Radio and Television with a rant aimed at highlighting the problems encountered throughout the competition. For him, the recently concluded World Cup will go down as one of the most profitable, but also one of the most controversial, in the tournament's history.

In a widely noted and widely shared social media statement, David Lemos highlighted a "crisis of confidence" between football stakeholders and FIFA. "This was undoubtedly the most commercial World Cup in history, and one of the most politicized as well," he declared, recalling that Gianni Infantino himself had described it the day before as "the greatest thing that has ever happened to humanity, more or less." One thing is certain, according to him: "It will have generated more revenue than ever before."

A praised sporting record, a contested social record

The commentator readily acknowledges the quality of the spectacle. The tournament, he says, offered "magnificent satisfactions, good moments on the sporting side" and "a worthy winner".

But he refuses to hide its downside: "Even if the stadium was full," the prices charged by the host country excluded fans with modest means.

David Lemos goes further, mentioning discriminatory treatment based on nationality, which allegedly affected "fans, journalists, referees", citing in particular the case of Somali referee Omar Artan.

The Iranian team and the Balogun affair

The Swiss journalist also refers to the "unacceptable treatment" allegedly suffered by the Iranian team, who he believes were prevented from "properly defending their chances" in the tournament.

He draws a historical parallel with the 1982 World Cup, when the Emir of Kuwait went onto the pitch to demand the cancellation of a French goal, an episode often cited with a smile.

This time, he claims, history has repeated itself in a different form: Balogun's red card was rescinded after Donald Trump called the FIFA president. "We saw a president boasting about calling the FIFA president to have a player's suspension overturned," he denounces, calling it direct political interference in the game.

David Lemos concludes with this observation that beyond the celebrations, "there is today for many a crisis of confidence between many actors in this sport and their international federation".