Juventus ahead Timothy Weah has revealed that he and his teammates have been compelled to attend what he described as a “bizarre” assembly with Donald Trump on the White Home in the course of the Membership World Cup in the USA.
The Serie A facet are at the moment on U.S. soil for the event, having kicked off their marketing campaign with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Al Ain. However it was an surprising political detour earlier than the match that caught headlines.
Juventus gamers and employees have been delivered to the Oval Workplace for a media-covered go to with the previous U.S. president. The encounter shortly turned awkward, with Trump veering into controversial matters, together with a pointed query to the gamers about whether or not a girl may play on their crew.
Caught off-guard, USA worldwide Weston McKennie glanced at Weah, visibly not sure methods to reply earlier than teammate Manuel Locatelli broke the silence by answering, “Yeah.”
Weah, the son of former Ballon d’Or winner and ex-Liberian president George Weah, later admitted that the assembly was sprung on the squad with out warning.
“It was all a shock to me, actually — they instructed us we needed to go and I had no selection however to indicate up,” Weah stated after the Al Ain match. “It was a bit bizarre. When he began speaking about politics with Iran and the whole lot, it’s type of like, I simply need to play soccer, man.”
The awkward summit lasted round 16 minutes and included discussions on political points corresponding to Iran and gender in sport. Trump notably introduced up his controversial “Holding Males Out of Girls’s Sports activities” government order signed earlier in 2025, which altered eligibility guidelines for feminine sports activities classes in U.S. school athletics.
McKennie, who has beforehand been important of Trump, reaffirmed his stance throughout protests in 2020, saying on the time, “I don’t suppose Trump is the best one for the job… I don’t help him a bit. In my eyes, you possibly can name him racist.”
Pictures from the assembly confirmed Juventus gamers posing stiffly behind Trump’s desk, many showing uncomfortable with the setting and subject material. The go to, removed from the crew’s footballing targets, created a second of unease that contrasted sharply with their assured efficiency on the pitch.
Whereas Juventus continued their pursuit of Membership World Cup success, the White Home second served as an surprising political sideshow that a number of gamers, particularly their U.S. representatives, would have quite prevented.
