Ballon d'Or ceremony in London marred by red carpet chaos and organizational failures

The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony in London was marred by organizational failures on Monday night, including a red carpet blockage that trapped attendees for over 30 minutes. Players and clubs expressed frustration over the series of mishaps. Ousmane Dembélé complained directly to organizers while waiting to leave the London Palladium, eventually returning to chat with Michael Olise. Earlier, players waited an hour at their hotel without refreshments or barriers, and the event started 30 minutes late due to traffic and Barcelona's delay. The ceremony was also disrupted by erroneous articles on the official site prematurely announcing Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, or Kylian Mbappé as winners. Organizers issued a statement clarifying the posts were pre-written drafts published inadvertently, revealing no actual result.