FIFA boss Infantino takes aim at World Cup critics
In a strongly worded open statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has hit out at those he says were too "consumed by hate and criticism" to
In a strongly worded open statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has hit out at those he says were too "consumed by hate and criticism" to enjoy the tournament. Infantino brushed off a number of corruption concerns. Gianni Infantino is not a man used to apologizing. And even though he said sorry three times on the second slide of a 15-page Instagram post, that remains the case. "To everyone who missed our beautiful game, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the deception, and the joy. To all of you who missed watching kids, babies, grandparents, and parents come together for the beautiful game, I say sorry that the matches are now over and sorry that you missed all that joy and togetherness. Sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all," read a missive from the FIFA president posted on FIFA's website, his personal Instagram account, and FIFA's online and social channels. Comments were turned off. The Swiss executive went on to claim that the World Cup, had brought "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 have 'united' Iran and USA "While you spread hatred, we worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war.
Iran entered the United States without incident or conflict," Infantino wrote. In fact, Iran were treated differently to any of the other 47 teams at the World Cup. They were forced to stay in Mexico and travel to their games in the US and had further last minute restrictions imposed on them after their matches. Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team were the "most oppressed" at the World Cup after the travel chaos came on top of several support staff being denied visas. Travel bans and visa refusals were a running theme of the tournament. Trump's travel bans denied entry to fans from several participating countries, including Haiti, Senegal, Iran and the Ivory Coast, which faced varying levels of bans or restrictions. Iran at the 2026 World Cup To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Furthermore Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US due to unsubstantiated US government claims that he had an "association with suspected members of terror organizations," despite the fact that he held a diplomatic passport and the had been issued the correct visa. FIFA and UEFA split becoming clearer But, Infantino said, people should instead be looking at FIFA's successes. "You mentioned the few people denied visas and overlooked the millions who were approved, from all parts of the world.
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