Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero snubbed Donald Trump’s handshake during the presentation of the runners-up medals at the 2026 World Cup final.
Argentina lost 1-0 after extra time to Spain in a largely dire final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as Ferran Torres smashed home a 106th-minute winner to give La Roja a second World Cup triumph in their history – following their 2010 success.
Romero started the match at the heart of the Argentine defence, alongside Lisandro Martinez, but was subbed off at the 70-minute mark with what appeared to be some sort of injury. His centre-back partner Martinez had himself come off injured towards the end of the first half.
However, the 28-year-old Tottenham defender still made his mark after that as he snubbed a handshake from Trump when the US president was conducting the medal presentation.
Trump was handing out medals to both teams, as well the individual tournament awards, and Romero shook the hand of both Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, who were either side of Trump, but did not engage with the US president.
Last summer, Trump made headlines when Chelsea won the Fifa Club World Cup in the same stadium, as he joined Blues captain Reece James at the heart of the celebrations to lift the trophy.
This time, after presenting the trophy to Spain, Trump moved towards the edge of the group for the initial lift, ensuring he would be in the photo, before Infantino subtly tried to move him away from the scene.
The reaction to the president in New Jersey on Sunday night was audibly negative with boos heard around the stadium.
Trump walked out onto the pitch alongside Infantino to loud jeers and whistle before shaking hands with numerous guests, including Governor of Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The ambient crowd noise in the stadium was about 78 decibels and the booing brought it to 84.
Romero was part of the Argentina side that won the World Cup in Qatar four years ago but they failed to retain their crown this time around, with an insipid display in the final ultimately costing them.
