President Donald Trump said Friday he believes the NFL “could’ve probably postponed” Sunday’s historic game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints in Paris, as French police grapple with mass protests and civil unrest that have already forced the postponement of a Paris Saint-Germain soccer match.
Paris police asked for the PSG match to be postponed because security resources are stretched thin by the unrest and the added demands of policing the NFL’s first-ever game in France, according to multiple reports. The NFL, however, told OutKick and Fox News Digital that the PSG postponement had no bearing on any decision about moving the Steelers-Saints game.
Trump disagreed with that approach. “It’s looking like tomorrow is going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it. I would’ve said the NFL could’ve probably postponed that match… France is really in trouble,” he told reporters Friday.
He went on to link the unrest to immigration and policy choices in France. “That’s what happens when you go left. That’s what happens when you allow unlimited numbers of people into your country from very unfriendly countries,” Trump said.
League Insists Game Will Proceed Safely
Despite the president’s comments, the NFL has repeatedly said this week that Sunday’s game at Stade de France will be safe for players and fans. Still, the Steelers canceled a planned fan event in the area, a sign of the caution surrounding the trip.
A league source said a two-hour gathering this week covered security planning for the game, the readiness of Stade de France, and the growth of flag football in France. The NFL’s own Fan House event, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, remains on the calendar. “It’s happening,” a league spokesman said Thursday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday he plans to attend the game and has been in contact with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about proceeding as planned. Rubio told OutKick the American embassy in France believes the game “will be fine.”
Unrest and Legal Fight Over Protests
The backdrop to the controversy is a wave of civil unrest in France. Organizers of a Paris protest told the Associated Press that an administrative court overturned a police-issued ban on the demonstration after they challenged it in court. Paris officials had defended the ban as necessary given the risk of street violence, after masked youths clashed with police, looted shops and set cars on fire over the weekend.
As part of the court ruling, protest organizers signed a document agreeing that the demonstration would remain stationary because of the risk of violence.
Earlier in the week, Dani Watt, wife of Steelers defensive end T.J. Watt, publicly questioned why the game had not been relocated, writing, “Tell me how this one makes sense???”
OutKick’s Armando Salguero contributed reporting to the original source article.
