In mid-June 2026, a video spread online allegedly showing the Uruguayan men's national soccer team being searched by a sniffer dog in the U.S. during the World Cup. The video showed soccer players waiting in a line in front of a bus as security officials and a dog walk around their baggage.
One post (archived) noted the expression on one of the player's faces, suggesting he was irritated or angry about the security check: "Uruguay arrived in the United States for the World Cup and were greeted by sniffer dogs and full security checks. Look at Manuel Ugarte's face."
The video appears to be authentic, with no signs it was generated by artificial intelligence or otherwise manipulated. Key elements of the video indicate that it shows the Uruguayan national team arriving at Miami Stadium in Florida. However, we do not know whether this was a routine security check, if other teams went through the same checks or whether the Uruguayan team expected it.
We have reached out to the Uruguayan Football Association, FIFA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office to learn more. Until we get more information, we leave this claim unrated.
Ugarte, the player in the white T-shirt, is standing at the front of the line, closest to the camera. A Reuters photograph of Ugarte taken June 15 shows him wearing the same outfit while arriving at Miami Stadium. Uruguay faced Saudi Arabia that day.
Toward the back of the line near the bus, a player with blue hair, Ronald Araújo, is visible. Uruguay's official football association's Instagram posted a picture of the same player with the blue hair in the same outfit.
The label "ESCOT" can be seen on the front of the white bus. ESCOT is a Florida-based charter bus company.
It is possible that this was a heightened security checks in effect for every team as well as fans. Miami Stadium was subject to increased security ahead of the matches it hosted. A local TV news report noted that fans were subject to "layers" of security checks and were disappointed by long wait times.
The Miami Police Department posted about its dogs deployed at various locations on its official Instagram account. Each dog in the post wore a different team jersey, with "K9 Switch" posing in the Uruguay team's shirt:
Throughout the entire FIFA World Cup 2026 season, the City of Miami Police Department K-9 Unit will be strategically deployed across venues, transportation hubs, fan zones and special event locations to help ensure the safety and security of all residents and visitors.
Our highly trained K-9 teams stand ready to detect threats, support public safety operations, and respond rapidly to incidents, providing an additional layer of protection during one of the world's largest sporting events.
While the video appears to be authentic, we are unable to determine the source and whether this was a routine check that applied to all teams.
Uruguay's team was reportedly stuck in Mexico, where the team's base camp for the World Cup is located, ahead of their match in the U.S. due to administrative reasons and missing paperwork that they blamed on FIFA. The team arrived in Miami less than 24 hours before their match with Saudi Arabia.
FIFA released a statement about the delay:
Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team's departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed. The airline has apologised for the inconvenience caused. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimize disruption to the team's travel arrangements.
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