Gianni Infantino (56) moves in the shadows.
However, we see him.
We see him because he lets himself be seen. He peeks into the VIP boxes of the big stadiums. He poses alongside the bigwigs, attends the media in pompous press conferences at the headquarters he presides over, FIFA, in Zurich. He hands out trophies, often smiles. He sits next to Donald Trump. He invents a meaningless recognition for the Republican president, he invents the FIFA Peace Prize. He laughs at Trump’s jokes and admonishes him like a small child:
–Step out of the photo, Mr. President, now only the world champions should pose –he tells the President of the United States during the trophy presentation to the Spaniards.
Trump is Trump and that’s why he ignores him: he stands next to la roja, waits for Rodri to lift the trophy, this is called photobomb, it ruins the image, Trump wants to pose with the champions and he will do so by fair means or foul.
In return and as fair payment for his services, Trump promotes Infantino, since after all the Swiss bureaucrat is the man who bets on hydration breaks to squeeze more juice out of advertising, he is the one who lifts the sanction on the suspended Balogun so he can play against Belgium, he is the one who raises the number of teams in the World Cup to 48, he is the one who aims to reach 64 countries by 2030, he is the one who intends to privatize FIFA, turning it into a company valued at 20 billion dollars, handing over part of its management to a range of companies that would be responsible for finding financing, including Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
As fair payment, Trump is considering proposing Infantino as UN Secretary-General.
UEFA prepares an emergency meeting to counter Infantino: “He crosses a line that cannot be crossed”
Yes, Infantino moves in the shadows, but we see him coming.
The range of organizations, entities, and federations, including UEFA, which operates on the perimeter of FIFA, see him coming.
They all appeared on the scene yesterday, they all told Infantino everything, they told him everything but nothing good.
While preparing an emergency meeting to counter Infantino’s privatization (reported yesterday by the BBC), UEFA wrote:
–This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. None of us owns football. FIFA cannot be sold.
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And Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football Associations):
–We share the disappointment of many in our region. As leaders within football, we are the custodians of the game. Every decision we make must be guided by good governance, solid processes, and long-term management.
The FIFA leader intends to privatize the entity, handing over part of the management to a range of companies
And Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president, through social media:
–The close relationship between the FIFA president and the President of the United States has reached a financial dimension that is deeply harming football. No one has the right to sell our sport.
More critics emerged, more entities expressed themselves in similar terms. Throughout the day, the English Federation, the French, the Danish, the Czech, and the Asian Confederation spoke out.
“Whoever mixes politics, discipline, money, and power without transparency cannot lead anything,” laments Javier Tebas
Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, also appeared on the scene:
–FIFA’s competitions and commercial rights are not the personal property of Gianni Infantino. Whoever mixes politics, discipline, money, and power without transparency is not qualified to lead anything. Infantino is not the solution to FIFA’s governance problems.
(…)
Meanwhile, Infantino remained silent, continued to operate in the shadows, perhaps clinging to the statements he had made the day before, when no major bureaucrat had yet positioned himself against him.
On Tuesday, Infantino wrote on social media:
–To all those who missed the beauty of our sport, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the disappointment, and the enjoyment, I regret that you were so consumed by hatred and criticism that you missed it all.
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