The Most Toxic, Politicized World Cup Ever?

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, IstanbulThe 2026 World Cup gets underway this week in North America and already the pre-tournament shenanigans threaten to upstate the actual game-play.The US, under President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appear to have made it their mission to harass the teams, staff, and fans of countries they don’t like. That includes Iraq and Somalia, whose celebrated referee was denied entry into the country.With Iran, the situation is super awkward, to say the least. This World Cup appears to the first in which a host country of the games is technically at war with one of the countries fielding a team.Iran’s beloved Team Melli has already been stiffed on tickets for fans, and opted to relocate its base to Mexico after the US delayed issuing the team visas. Members of Iran Team Melli’s support staff has also been denied visas.In today’s special World Cup edition of badlands, I speak with Sweden-based sports journalist and pundit Nima Tavallaey Roodsari about the tournament and the irregularities that have been imposed by the US on Iran’s team.I also gave a brief interview to Austrian’s ORF FM4 radio about the fighting that took place between Israel and Iran during the weekend. You can listen to it here.become a paid subscriber to badlands and help me improve its quality, content, and frequency. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe