Timothy Weah said he was forced to visit US President Donald Trump with a portion of the Juventus squad on Wednesday. The American forward found the ceremony at the White House to be a “strange” affair.
Trump received part of the Juventus squad on the occasion of the Club World Cup in the United States. Among others, Teun Koopmeiners was present in the Oval Office. A few hours later, Juventus won 5-0 against Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates in Washington.
During Juventus’ sixteen-minute visit to Trump, the president discussed numerous topics. He spoke about the conflict between Israel and Iran, the American Civil War, and a travel ban for citizens from certain countries.
Trump also addressed the transgender policy in American sports. He asked the Juventus squad if a woman could play on their team. The squad responded evasively, after which Trump said: “They are very diplomatic.”
Weah, along with teammate Weston McKennie, was the American representation of Juventus at the White House. McKennie was critical of Trump in 2020 in light of Black Lives Matter. “In my eyes, you can call him a racist. He is not the right man to be president. I do not support him in any way,” he said to Bild at the time.
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Weah: ‘They told us we had to go’
Weah said after the match against Al Ain that he was forced to visit Trump. “They told us we had to go,” the 25-year-old forward told The Athletic. Reportedly, some members of the Juventus delegation did not know they would be present at a press conference.
“I didn’t have a choice either. I had to go,” said the 25-year-old Weah. “I was taken by surprise. It was also a strange affair. When he started talking about politics and Iran, I was like: I just want to play soccer, man.”
Weah called it a special experience to visit the White House for the first time. “But I’m not into politics. I liked that part of the visit less,” said Weah, who has so far played 44 times for the national team.
Coach Igor Tudor did not go into detail about the visit to Trump at the press conference after the match. “You don’t go to the White House every day, so I thought it was a nice trip,” said the Croatian. When journalists wanted to know more from Tudor, a FIFA official intervened.
