Weah (2nd from right) is not satisfied with President Donald Trump - Photo: REUTERS
It all started with the visit of the entire Juventus team to the White House on June 18. US President Donald Trump invited the Italian team to visit, while they were in the US preparing to participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
But then Mr. Trump's 'inappropriate' statements made the atmosphere less cheerful in the Oval Office that day.
The people who publicly expressed their attitude were two American players on the Juventus team, Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie. In which Weah frankly declared that he "just wanted to play football, not do politics ", the New York Times quoted.
During this meeting, Mr. Trump suddenly made controversial statements, making Juventus players feel awkward.
Specifically, while shaking hands with the whole team, Mr. Trump suddenly asked: "Are there any girls on your team?".
The players looked surprised, exchanged awkward glances, and some laughed awkwardly. When the club representative replied that Juventus had a very strong women's team, Mr. Trump replied: "But they should play with women."
The statement is believed to reinforce Mr. Trump’s stance on opposing transgender women competing in women’s sports . Earlier this year, he signed an executive order banning transgender people from competing in women’s sports in the US.
Not stopping there, while the players were still standing around, Mr. Trump sat down at the table and suddenly made a statement about foreign policy related to Iran.
Photos published by news agencies show that at that moment, the entire Juventus team was "embarrassed", no one expected to be dragged into such a situation that had nothing to do with football.
Timothy frankly said he was not satisfied with President Trump - Photo: REUTERS
Timothy Weah, son of the legendary George Weah, later spoke out against it.
“They just told us to go there. I didn’t know what was going on. When he started speaking, I was just sitting there thinking, what is this? I don’t care about politics. I just want to play football, that’s all,” he said.
Describing his “strange” experience at the White House, he said he felt put in a difficult position. “No one told us it was going to be a political speech. We thought it was just a normal greeting,” he shared.
Weston McKennie, another Juventus player who has repeatedly criticized Trump in the past, did not make any public comments after his visit to the White House, but he also expressed his displeasure.
Like Weah, McKennie had previously expressed embarrassment at being caught up in the "political moment".
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sau-chuyen-tham-nha-trang-tuyen-thu-juventus-phan-ung-viec-chinh-tri-hoa-the-thao-cua-ong-trump-20250627175919731.htm
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