FIFA president Gianni Infantino posted a 15-slide message on his personal Instagram account, reposted to FIFA’s eight million followers, telling critics to “meditate, pray or watch a football match” instead of “spreading hate and false rumours” about his leadership and the 2026 World Cup. Infantino called the tournament a success that “celebrated humanity at its best,” asserting it had “100% safety and security” and claiming FIFA “worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war” when Iran entered the United States “without incident or conflict.” His account directly contradicts Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei, who said Iran’s team were the “most oppressed” at the tournament after visa delays, denial of key backroom staff entry, ticket revocations for fans, and a forced move of Iran’s training base from Tucson to Tijuana. Infantino dismissed those cases as isolated compared with the millions of visas approved, while critics point to similar travel bans affecting Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, and to Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry despite a diplomatic passport and visa. Infantino also defended officiating decisions that drew scrutiny, including the suspension lift for USA forward Folarin Balogun after a one-match ban was stayed following intervention by US President Donald Trump, a move UEFA called “unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable” and which the Norwegian Football Federation may refer to FIFA’s ethics committee. FIFA is meanwhile investigating on-field incidents including post-match altercations involving Argentina after the final, allegations of racist abuse toward influencer IShowSpeed, and multiple arrests at matches; immigration officials from ICE were also present at stadiums, a point critics highlighted as controversial.
Charlie Morris1
madmac71.bsky.social1
