CNN
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While Chelsea stole the show on the pitch in a spectacular show with Paris Saint-Germain, President Donald Trump was undoubtedly the center of attention in Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where two goals from Cole Palmer and two goals from new additions from John Pedro gave Chelsea a 3-0 victory, becoming the first winner of the newly formatted competition.
But for Trump, it was an eventful afternoon since his first appearance in front of fans.
He and the First Lady were cheered when they arrived at MetLife Stadium, but Trump was scattered with boos when shown on a video screen during the pre-match national anthem. He was booed again after the game. He was presenting medals to players on the field along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
However, hostile receptions from some of the attendees were not over for the 79-year-old. He was shown in television coverage of games where he sits with Infantino on a daily basis.
CNN reported that Attorney General Pam Bondy was present as pressure was under pressure to release a memo about the accused trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem was also found in the suite by pool cameras following the president, with the Associated Press joining the president with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, NFL legend Tom Brady and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
After handing the winner’s trophy to Chelsea Captain Reese James with Infantino, Trump stayed on stage while the FIFA boss departed. There appeared to be some confusion among the Chelsea players about whether or not they should wait for Trump to leave before proceeding with the ritual trophy lift.
But after a while, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, standing on the other side of Trump, moved to James to advance through the Trump Standing Center Stage.
That led to the unusual image of the Chelsea team celebrating a tournament victory.
Chelsea players then expressed confusion over Trump’s presence on the stage. In soccer, trophy lifts are usually for players and staff on the winning team.
“I knew he was here, but when I lifted the trophy I was a bit confused because I didn’t know he was in the stands,” said Palmer, who was named the tournament player.
James added: “Before he presented the trophy and told me he was about to leave the stage. He was planning on leaving the stage, but he wanted to stay.”
There was confusion on social media, and the video appeared to show that Impantino was giving the winner’s medal.
CNN Sports contacted FIFA to ask if Trump was given a medal from his body and if he was planning to take the stage during the trophy lift.
“I think I was upset today,” Trump told reporters. “But it was a great match.”
It was a unique conclusion to a unique tournament, seeing the game being played with heat, seeing thunderstorms and teams behind to compete against each other.
Contrary to other large football matches, the Finals had the conventional razzle dazzle that comes with American sporting events through halftime performances. British rock band Coldplay surprised the cameo performance alongside J Balbin, Dojacat, Tem and Emmanuel Kelly.
With the World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico within 12 months, things could be even bigger and more unusual than usual.
