Does the FIFA president seriously believe Google doesn’t exist? That the public cannot recall his own track record of selective enforcement and political sycophancy?
In his recent press conference, a BBC reporter had the audacity to ask Gianni Infantino why FIFA had done nothing about the humiliating denial of entry and visa issues faced by Somali referee Artan Abdikadir at Miami International Airport.
Infantino’s response was a masterclass in deflection and hypocrisy: “Where are you from? The BBC. Okay. The UK is going to host the World Cup in 2030 or something. How would you feel if we told you who to grant visas to?”
How convenient. How utterly absurd.
Let us refresh the memory of those suffering from convenient amnesia. In 2023, Indonesia was stripped of its hosting rights for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and slapped with financial sanctions precisely because it refused to issue visas to Israeli players, citing the absence of diplomatic relations and strong pro-Palestine public sentiment.
Infantino and FIFA had no qualms then about intervening decisively to punish a host nation that dared prioritize its principles over football’s supposed neutrality. Obligations were invoked. Sanctions were swift. Hosting rights vanished.
Yet when the United States – FIFA’s key partner and host of the current expanded World Cup – detains African and Asian officials, denies entry to accredited referees and staff from nations like Somalia and Iran, the same president suddenly discovers that his hands are tied.
“Governments control visas”, he shrugs. “FIFA cannot interfere”.
What a remarkable transformation from decisive enforcer to helpless spectator. This is not incompetence. It is captured governance of the highest order.
Gianni Infantino operates as little more than a Jared Kushner puppet in this sordid theater. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a staunch advocate for Israel, played a pivotal role in securing the 2026 World Cup for North America through personal diplomacy, connections, and direct engagement with Infantino.
Their relationship has been cozy and mutually beneficial, with Infantino maintaining close ties even after the Trump administration, including strategic dinners and ongoing consultations.
The crowning embarrassment was Infantino’s decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump – a gesture widely seen as pandering to power and a predator in the eyes of many. This, while refusing meaningful action on issues affecting the Global South.
That “peace prize” will indeed be the enduring punchline of his tenure – a sycophantic tribute that exposes FIFA’s transformation from a unifying force into a vassal outfit exploited to perpetuate the very political conflicts it claims to transcend.
FIFA as Geopolitical Weapon
Football was meant to be a universal language, a rare arena where nations set aside divisions. Under Infantino, it has become a stage for the powerful to flex muscle while the weak are lectured on “obligations.”
Selective visa enforcement, favoritism toward certain lobbies, and punitive measures against nations that resist Israeli participation reveal an organization weaponized in service of specific geopolitical interests.
This rot is enabled from within. Corrupt football associations; particularly money-hungry African FA presidents, form the backbone of Infantino’s support.
Led by disgraced figures like Djibouti FA President and FIFA Council member Suleiman Hassan Waberi, Infantino’s number one sycophant in the continent of Africa, these officials trade votes and influence for personal gain and proximity to power, selling African football’s future to sustain the status quo.
Governments across the Global South must act decisively. Rein in these corrupt FA presidents who auction their federations’ sovereignty. Demand transparency in voting and leadership. Reject captured puppets like Infantino, whose legacy will not be grand stadiums or development funds, but shameless service to external masters while African and Asian talent is humiliated at borders and local leagues starve.
The beautiful game deserves better than this juvenile delinquency masquerading as administration.
Infantino’s selective outrage and convenient impotence fool no one. History will record him not as a reformer, but as the man who turned FIFA into a tool of division – all while pocketing the proceeds and polishing trophies for the powerful.
The laughter, as predicted, has already begun.
