an old debate: how far can political leaders influence football decisions?
But what few people know is that this is not the first time something similar has happened.
More than six decades earlier, during the 1962 World Cup in Chile, then-Chilean president Jorge Alessandri personally intervened to try to change a FIFA decision that could completely alter the course of the tournament.
It all happened after Brazil’s great star, Garrincha, was sent off in the semifinal against Chile. According to the rules, he had to miss the final against Czechoslovakia, an absence that would have completely changed the outcome of the championship.
Aware of the importance the Brazilian star had for the World Cup spectacle, Alessandri made representations to FIFA so that the punishment would be reconsidered. In the end, the organization decided to lift the suspension and Garrincha was able to play in the final, where Brazil went on to win its second world title.
The story gained momentum again after it became known that Trump spoke with Infantino in the middle of the 2026 World Cup. Although the two cases are completely different, many fans found it inevitable to compare the two episodes: presidents intervening, in one way or another, at decisive moments of a World Cup.
More than 60 years later, football once again shows that the most curious stories do not always happen on the pitch.