​England captain Harry Kane has faced criticism after revealing that he played a round of golf with Donald Trump. The Bayern Munich striker, who has already contributed six goals to England’s campaign and helped set up their World Cup semifinal clash with Argentina on Wednesday, spoke about the round during a news conference on Friday, ahead of England’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Norway. In an exchange with The Daily Telegraph at the press event, Kane was asked how he fared against the former president on the golf course. He replied: “I played all right, to be honest. We played about 18 months ago. He invited me to play when I was down in Palm Beach, so, yeah, when the president invites you somewhere. It was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him and obviously play golf with him.”
Kane added that Trump’s golf game was “pretty good, to be honest with you,” and he speculated that he might be able to “play golf as good as him when I’m his age, that’s for sure.” He described the encounter as a “unique experience” and expressed gratitude for the invitation to play. The former president, who turned 80 in June, has long faced accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct on the golf course, with sportswriter Rick Reilly even devoting an entire book to the claim. Trump publicly praised Kane on Truth Social last week, calling him “a GREAT player!!!” before confirming that the two had played together.
Kane’s comments quickly drew criticism on social media, with some users calling them “beyond embarrassing” and “disappointing.” The England captain isn’t the first high-profile footballer to attract backlash for meeting Trump. In recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina have also faced criticism for appearances at the White House and accompanying photo ops with the president. If England defeats Messi’s Argentina and then goes on to win the World Cup against either Spain or France, Trump would present Kane with the trophy. This has been a topic of political and social debate, illustrating how sports figures’ associations can ignite discussion beyond the pitch.