Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says soccer fans should avoid traveling to the United States for the 2026 World Cup this summer.

Blatter’s reasoning? His belief that President Donald Trump’s international aggression and immigration crackdown across the country makes it dangerous for fans traveling overseas.

Blatter cited Mark Pieth, an anti-corruption expert and law professor who oversaw the Independent Governance Committee during FIFA’s reform from 2013-16. Pieth spoke with Swiss outlet Der Bund, where he told soccer fans to, "Stay away from the USA!"

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"For the fans, there’s only one piece of advice: stay away from the USA!" I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup," Blatter, 89, tweeted on Monday.

Pieth added in his interview: "You’ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t please the officials, they’ll be put straight on the next flight home. If they’re lucky."

The United States is set to co-host this year’s World Cup, as Mexico and Canada will be the site for games in the tournament that spans from June 11-July 19. However, after the Round of 16, all remaining matches will be held in the U.S.

Trump’s stance toward Greenland has led to a call to boycott the World Cup this summer by German soccer federation executive Oke Göttlich.

"I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this concretely," Göttlich told Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper about a potential boycott. "For me, that time has definitely come."

Trump said recently that a "framework of a future deal" with NATO involving Greenland and the Arctic region has been discussed, which could ease tension in that regard.

"Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

There is also the criticism of ICE agents in U.S. cities, specifically Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the deaths of two U.S. citizens as immigration crackdowns continue.

Pieth discussed that factor as well in his interview.

"The country itself is in a state of tremendous turmoil," he said. "What we’re witnessing domestically — the marginalization of political opponents, the abuses by immigration authorities, and so on — doesn’t exactly entice a fan to travel there.

Pieth likened the States’ "security situation" to Mexico, where drug cartels threaten violence ahead of matches in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Pieth believes the U.S. has become "increasingly authoritarian."

It’s worth noting Blatter was forced out of his post as FIFA president in 2015 following one of the biggest corruption scandals in the sport involving wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering.

Gianni Infantino took over Blatter’s role, and he has had a strong friendship with Trump.

The State Department also told Fox News Digital exclusively that it will launch the FIFA Priority Appointment Schedule System, or FIFA PASS, which will give World Cupp ticket holders the opportunity to access prioritized visa appointments before the tournament begins on June 11.

Prospective visa holders must be able to show that they qualify to obtain a visa and plan to follow the laws in the United States as well as leave the country once the tournament is over on July 19.

Trump spoke about the FIFA Pass in November, saying the Departments of State and Homeland Security had been working "tirelessly" to "ensure that soccer fans from all around the world are properly vetted and able to come to the United States next summer easily."

"I’ve directed my administration to do everything within the power to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success. I think it’s going to be the greatest, and we are setting records on ticket sales," Trump said at the time.

Infantino said the organization expected "between 5 and 10 million people coming to America from… all over the world to enjoy the World Cup."

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

The Potomac is facing more than rough waters after a sewage spill near Lockhouse 10 sent E. coli levels soaring far beyond safe limits in Washington, D.C., with new testing revealing contamination thousands of times higher than what’s considered safe for human contact.

Lockhouse 10 is a historic canal lock and restored lockkeeper’s house along the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, originally used to manage boat traffic on the 19th-century canal and now preserved as a quiet historic site about five miles from the heart of Washington, D.C.

The Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) released test results from contaminated water along the Potomac River that PRKN President Betsy Nicholas said show impacts far worse than initially believed.

The results showed elevated levels of E. coli bacteria, a type of bacteria commonly found in the intestines of people and animals that are usually harmless but can cause diarrhea and more serious gastrointestinal illness when certain toxin-producing strains contaminate food or water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

TRUMP TELLS MEXICO TO FIX CROSS-BORDER SEWAGE PROBLEM FLOWING INTO US COMMUNITIES 'IMMEDIATELY'

"These measurements of E. coli bacteria show contamination which is nearly 12,000 times what authorities limit for human contact," Nicholas said. "So far, almost 300 million gallons have entered the Potomac River, and the long-term impact cannot be overstated. We measured against standards established by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and Maryland’s Department of the Environment.

"We were able to get this information thanks to real-time testing conducted Friday by Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper, and Evan Quinter, PRKN volunteer coordinator," she added.

DOG-WALKING MAN STUMBLES ON SUSPECTED DEBRIS FROM REAGAN NATIONAL PLANE CRASH 7 MONTHS LATER

Beyond the initial findings, additional testing conducted along the Potomac River shows how far the contamination spread and how dramatically bacteria levels varied depending on location.

Naujoks said the sampling locations were chosen to show contamination at the source of the spill, at popular public recreation areas and miles downstream in Washington, D.C.

"We sampled the sewage discharging from the broken interceptor pipe to the Potomac River near Lock 10 and the result was 4,884,000 MPN – Most Probable Number for E. coli – which is 11,900 times higher than the 410 MPN limit for safe human contact," he said. "Very nearby, samples collected from the river at the Lock House 10 public river access where people recreate showed values were 7,000 times above the 410 limit. 

MCDONALD'S E.COLI OUTBREAK LINKED TO CALIFORNIA FARM, FDA INVESTIGATING

"We also sampled roughly four miles downstream in D.C. waters at Fletchers Cove, where testing data revealed E. coli levels were 60 times higher than the 410 standard," he added.

Naujoks said the spill was the result of infrastructure failures that he argues could have been prevented with better maintenance and planning.

"Infrastructure failure is at the root of this disaster – the six-foot-diameter sewage interceptor pipe located this close to the river should have been better maintained to avoid this catastrophe," Naujoks said. "DC Water needs to come up with a better plan than using a 100-year-old dry canal ditch to capture and contain future sewage releases instead of discharging hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage to the river. One of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history could have been avoided."

Fox News Digital has reached out to DC Water for comment on the matter.