US may bar ‘antisemitic’ European officials from World Cup entry

The United States is prepared to issue a “red card” to European leaders, ministers, and officials who have pursued policies deemed “antisemitic” by the Trump administration, potentially barring their entry to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Yehuda Kaploun, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi appointed by Donald Trump as a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, issued the warning during a conference held in Brussels on Wednesday.

“We are holding countries responsible for what their ministers say, and these individuals are not being permitted entry into the country,” Kaploun stated.

Anxiety is reportedly mounting within high-level European Union circles that officials and ministers could be detained at border controls while attempting to travel to the World Cup, which the US is hosting this summer. One EU official confirmed that Kaploun explicitly linked allegations of antisemitism to travel access for the tournament.

Kaploun further alleged that “antisemitism” across Europe has reached levels comparable to those seen in 1933.

When pressed by Euractiv regarding additional measures the US might take, Kaploun said: “We can take whatever steps the Secretary of State and the President feel are necessary to protect society. Those are options. As far as the details of how that will happen, we won’t go into the specifics.”

Belgium, whose national football team has qualified for the World Cup, has come under specific US scrutiny due to a legal case launched against Jewish mohels (circumcisers) in Antwerp, home to the country’s ultra-Orthodox community.

The US Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, has accused the Belgian government of antisemitism, a charge that Brussels has denied. Speaking at the same conference—organized by the European Jewish Association, a pro-Israel group known for educating politicians on the Holocaust and honoring figures such as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola—White reiterated his firm stance that the host nation faces a severe antisemitism crisis.

“People are telling us they no longer feel safe,” White said while accepting an award for his support of the Jewish community.

Kaploun told Euractiv that White maintains the full support of the US administration. Addressing the Belgian situation, Kaploun remarked: “The rest of the world does not have a problem with this, so why would Belgium choose to make it a problem?”

The rabbi suggested that a “rapid” resolution would be achieved without applying “any” pressure on the Belgian government.

During a previous visit to Brussels in March, Kaploun met with senior European ambassadors. At one meeting, he reportedly clashed with a high-ranking German diplomat after asserting that Europe is “soft on crime.”

One EU official present at that meeting remarked: “He came here to dictate the law. We have different approaches.”

Reflecting on that exchange, Kaploun told Euractiv: “I told [the German diplomat] then that it wasn’t a matter of being soft on crime. The Germans have done an incredible job of prosecuting people for hate crimes against the Jewish community. That was not the point of the discussion. The discussion was how we educate people so that there doesn’t have to be an arrest. It was by no means a hostile conversation. He was saying we’re continuing our efforts, and I was explaining that we have to make the effort before the arrests and the actions.”

Asked whether Donald Trump’s public criticisms of the Pope have complicated his mission, Kaploun dismissed the friction. “I don’t think the Pope needs to be occupied with the President, and the President does not need to be occupied with the Pope,” he said.

However, Kaploun added that he believes the Catholic Church should be more vocal on “certain issues affecting the world.”

“If there were an anti-Christian bias, he would not be very quiet. But there isn’t. He talks about right and wrong,” the rabbi concluded.