In every football tournament, the winning team’s lifting of the trophy is a special, and sometimes perhaps even sacred moment. It’s a unique celebration for the tournament’s winning squad, which serves as a culmination after a job well done. It’s reserved for team members only, but President of the United States Donald Trump didn’t get that memo. For some bizarre reason, Trump was present on stage when Chelsea FC celebrated their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup victory on Sunday. This was confusing to tourney Golden Ball Award winner and Chelsea forward Cole Palmer.
“I knew he was going to be here, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy,” Palmer said of the situation.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino trying to get Trump to leave the stage as Chelsea were lifting their Club World Cup trophy.
Such an embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/GfaYpLyKhE
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) July 14, 2025
“So I was a bit confused,” Palmer said.
Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain, the current holders of the UEFA Champions League trophy, 3-0, in the Club World Cup title game.
It was staged at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (the New York City metropolitan area), a venue which will host the 2026 World Cup title game next summer.
Cole Palmer isn’t the only person who thought this strange.
Trump refused to leave even after they were practically pushing him away so Chelsea photoshopped him out of their official trophy raising photo. Good move. pic.twitter.com/igcVWyuVek
— Chris Sigurdson (@sigurdson_chris) July 14, 2025
Trump’s inability to understand this basic protocol has provided massive fodder for news media, comedians, social media pundits, politicos and just pretty much anybody who comments on current events. Chelsea were totally in the right, in photo-shopping Trump out of their official trophy lift photos. (by the way, that trophy is actually a replica, with the original at the White House, here is a link to how and why)
The Guardian published a poignant political cartoon on this incident. And Late with Seth Meyers host got his jokes in too.
He has a good point about Trump one, being obsessed with anything and everything gold, and two, acting here like he was on the team. You can see that around the 4:18 mark here.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter