British media reported on Monday that UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, expressing his discontent with FIFA.

The relationship between European football's governing body and the world football association is experiencing increasing tension.

Among the reasons is FIFA's unjustified decision to rescind the red card received by American forward Folarin Balogun before the US match against Belgium in the World Cup, after US President Donald Trump asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to 'review' the sending-off decision.

UEFA expressed its displeasure at Infantino's yielding to what it considered political pressure from the host country, and described the decision of FIFA's disciplinary committee as 'unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustified,' considering it 'crossed a red line.'

Other sources of tension include FIFA's acceptance of the US authorities' refusal to allow Somali referee Omar Artan to enter the country. UEFA responded by appointing Artan as referee for the European Super Cup match next month.

FIFA also failed to ensure that Iran was treated the same way as other participating teams in the United States. Coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team was 'the most wronged' in the World Cup, while US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he 'danced with joy' when Iran was eliminated from the tournament.

UEFA has also so far refused to adopt some innovations implemented by FIFA during the World Cup, such as water breaks, the VAR protocol for 'mistaken identity' cases, which led to the expulsion of striker Breel Embolo in Switzerland's loss to Argentina in the quarterfinal, in addition to cards for players who cover their mouths while talking to an opponent.

The Slovenian Ceferin had also criticized the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams before its start.

He was quoted as saying in a statement to a Slovenian newspaper: 'We have a lot of completely uninteresting matches.'

Ceferin also publicly criticized World Cup ticket prices, and UEFA confirmed it will continue to offer two categories of 'fans first' tickets for Euro 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

He explained that 40% of tickets will be priced either under £30 (€35 or $40) or under £60, and he pledged not to adopt a dynamic pricing system.

Ceferin did not attend the tournament's opening match in Mexico City on June 11.