Gianni Infantino is not a man used to apologizing. And even though he said sorry three times on the second slide of the 15-page Instagram post, the situation still remains the same.
“For all of you who missed seeing our beautiful game, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the deception and the joy. For all of you who missed seeing children, babies, grandparents and parents coming together for the beautiful game, I am sorry the matches are now over and sorry you missed all the joy and togetherness. Sorry you were so consumed by the hate and criticism that you missed seeing it all,” FIFA’s website, his personal Instagram account And in a message from the FIFA President posted on FIFA’s Instagram account. Online and social channels. Comments are closed.
The Swiss executive claimed that the World Cup, “No violence, no incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness!” The exclamation mark was not the only part of the message reminiscent of US President Donald Trump’s communication style.
Infantino claims to ‘unite’ Iran and America
“While you were spreading hatred, we worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war. Iran entered the United States without incident or conflict,” Infantino wrote.
In fact, Iran was treated differently from the other 47 teams in the World Cup. They were forced to stay in Mexico and travel to their games in the US and were banned at the last minute after their matches.
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoui said his team was “the most harassed” at the World Cup, as many support staff were refused visas due to travel chaos.
Travel restrictions and visa denials were an ongoing theme of the tournament. Trump’s travel restrictions denied entry to fans from several participating countries, including Haiti, Senegal, Iran and Ivory Coast, who faced various levels of bans or restrictions.
Additionally, Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US due to unproven claims by the US government that he had “associations with suspected members of terrorist organizations”, despite the fact that he held a diplomatic passport and was issued the correct visa.
The divide between FIFA and UEFA is becoming clear
But, Infantino said, people should focus on FIFA’s successes instead.
He said, “You pointed out that some people were refused visas and millions of people who were granted visas from all parts of the world were ignored. Because football unites the world and that was demonstrated powerfully this summer.”
Infantino’s relationship with Trump has been another point of contention for many. After Trump was awarded the newly introduced FIFA Peace Prize in December, Trump acknowledged calling Infantino to lobby on behalf of American striker Folarin Balogun, whose red card ban was suspended in an unprecedented move at the World Cup.
“Indeed, ‘controversial’ refereeing decisions or ‘bizarre’ disciplinary decisions such as potentially unfair red or yellow cards or subsequent decisions not to ban players in certain situations are routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues around the world,” Infantino wrote.
However, FIFA’s own rules state that red card sanctions cannot be appealed or overturned at the World Cup, which Balogun was, at least in the World Cup context.
“It’s interesting that the same countries that are imposing these practices are the ones that are criticizing,” Infantino said, taking aim at European governing body UEFA. UEFA publicly stated that FIFA had “crossed the red line” in the Balogun incident. UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin failed to attend the World Cup finals, a move widely believed to be in protest – a disagreement between FIFA and its largest continental confederation.
Trump wants to make Infantino United Nations Secretary General
Shortly after the final, Trump recommended Infantino for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations, up for grabs later this year.
But, despite the views of his “close friend”, Infantino looks set to remain at FIFA, where he is expected to be re-elected unopposed next year. In Sunday’s message he praised his organization for performing despite further criticism of hydration breaks and FIFA breaking its own rules to extend halftime in the finals.
“To all the pens and papers, to all the screens, may you find love and peace where those behind you could not.
May you rest in peace; In FIFA we have found the best of ourselves and we deliver it by delivering the most excellent FIFA World Cup. “Football rises above all hatred.”
It’s a message that the Iranian team, Haitian fans and Omar Arton might well have shared, had they been allowed to enjoy the World Cup with the same freedom as Infantino.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold