UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, expressing his displeasure with FIFA according to British media on Monday. The relationship between the European and international governing bodies has become increasingly tense due to a number of decisions taken by FIFA, including the unjustified cancellation of a red card penalty for striker Folarin Balogun before the US match against Belgium in the World Cup, after US President Donald Trump asked Gianni Infantino to review the sending-off decision. UEFA expressed its displeasure at Infantino's capitulation to what it considered political pressure from the host country, describing the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's decision as "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustified," considering it had "crossed a red line." Other sources of tension include FIFA's acceptance of the US authorities' refusal to allow Somali referee Omar Aratan to enter the country. UEFA responded by appointing Aratan to officiate the European Super Cup match next month. FIFA also failed to ensure that the Iranian team was treated the same way as other participating teams in the United States. UEFA has also so far refused to adopt some of the innovations implemented by FIFA during the World Cup, such as water breaks, the VAR protocol for "wrong identity" cases, which led to the sending-off of striker Breel Embolo in Switzerland's loss to Argentina in the quarter-finals, as well as yellow cards issued to players who cover their mouths while speaking to an opponent. Slovenian Ceferin, who did not attend the opening match, had also criticized the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams before it began. He was quoted as saying in an interview with a Slovenian newspaper: "We have many matches that are not interesting at all." Ceferin also publicly criticized World Cup ticket prices. He confirmed that he will continue to offer two categories of "fan first" tickets for Euro 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He explained that 40% of tickets will cost either less than 30 pounds ($40) or less than 60 pounds. He also pledged not to adopt dynamic pricing.