FIFA cropped Trump out of Spain’s official World Cup trophy lift photos after he refused to leave the stage during the celebration

FIFA appeared to crop US President Donald Trump out of celebratory photographs posted on its social media accounts following Spain’s World Cup final win, according to images shared on X. According to The Telegraph, Trump remained on stage during Spain’s trophy celebrations despite attempts by players to usher him aside. The incident occurred after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday night.

Trump had taken center stage alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino to congratulate the Spanish players before presenting the trophy to the winning captain Rodri, per the report. The Manchester City midfielder appeared to try to move Trump out of the way before turning to celebrate with his teammates, while the president remained standing at the front of the stage, according to the account.

The official FIFA World Cup account on X posted an image that appeared to have Trump cropped out of the shot. The account also appeared to omit winning manager Luis de la Fuente from the photo, although de la Fuente did appear in a separate image posted by the Spain men’s national team account. The Spanish Football Federation used an image taken seconds after Trump had walked away with Infantino, which also did not show the president.

Spanish commentators react to Trump’s presence on stage

Several players, including goalkeeper Unai Simón, appeared reluctant to accept a handshake from Trump. Trump then remained on stage during the trophy lift before slowly moving to one side of the Spanish team as Rodri prepared to hoist the trophy. FIFA had cleared Trump to hand over the trophy to the winning captain ahead of the final.

Dani Garrido, a football commentator for Spain’s Cadena SER radio station, was quoted as saying: “Bravo Rodri, he held on and held on with his sacred balls until Trump got out of the picture.” 

Garrido added: “That takes a lot of personality, bravo to Rodri. It’s no joke. We see people in photographs who shouldn’t be there, and he stayed until the end, until Trump stepped out of the frame, because he clearly wanted to be in the picture. And when he left, he lifted the World Cup.”

The report noted that Trump had also stood in the middle of the shot next to Chelsea captain Reece James during the trophy lift at the Club World Cup last year, an incident described in the report as a photobomb. 

Trump’s presence at World Cup events has previously drawn reactions from players, including when Belgium players mocked Trump’s dance move after eliminating the United States from the tournament.

Spain’s players allowed King Felipe VI of Spain to join the celebrations with the trophy. According to the report, the king was scheduled to receive the players in Madrid later that day before they board an open-top bus for a tour of the city.

Footage cited in the report showed Argentina’s players facing the crowd with their backs to the Spanish team during the celebrations. Spanish media outlets described a series of gestures by Argentina following the match as unsportsmanlike. 

Spain’s players formed a “guard of honor” for the Argentina squad, with commiserations directed at Lionel Messi, though the gesture was apparently not returned. Newspaper El País described Argentina as “bad losers.”

Spain’s TVE national broadcaster showed slow-motion footage of scuffles said to have been provoked by Argentina after the final whistle, including an incident involving Leandro Paredes. 

A caption shown by the broadcaster, as cited in the report, read: “Paredes’s outburst is UNACCEPTABLE. The Argentine midfielder first assaulted Eric García and then Gavi after the final whistle.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X following the win: “We are world champions! Our national team was immense.” Newspaper El Mundo’s front-page headline read “On top the world!”, while El País’s front page read “Champions.”

According to the report, Cadena SER football analyst Manu Carreño criticized the refereeing performance of Slavko Vincic, describing him as “Argentina’s MVP.” Carreño said the refereeing allowed Argentina to get away with harsh tackles, shoves, and other rough play during the match.

The report also noted that Vincic had stopped play over a disputed foul on Nicolás Otamendi by Mikel Merino at a moment when Spain appeared to have scored a winning goal in normal time, rather than allowing play to continue for a VAR review. Carreño described the decision as unbelievable.

Neither FIFA, the Spanish Football Federation, nor representatives for Trump have issued a public statement confirming the reasoning behind the cropped images, according to the available report.