Gianni Infantino angered those present at the annual FIFA Congress in Asuncion, Paraguay on Thursday after arriving late following a trip around the Gulf states with Donald Trump
UEFA have issued a strong rebuke after FIFA president Gianni Infantino was late for the biggest annual gathering in football because he’d joined Donald Trump on his Gulf tour to meet world leaders. In a statement, Europe’s football governing body have criticised Infantino for prioritising ‘private political interests’ over the 75th annual FIFA congress in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Infantino is becoming increasingly close with US President Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by three nations in North America, and this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States. The Swiss-Italian chief missed a number of key FIFA events, including an official dinner, as the start of the Congress was forced to be delayed by hours on Thursday.
Infantino was late after flying in from Qatar following a state dinner to mark Trump’s visit. He’d previously travelled to Saudi Arabia with Trump and spent time with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Infantino argued that his trip was justified by pointing to the fact that the USA and Saudi Arabia are staging two of the next three World Cups. He opened his delayed address to the FIFA Congress with an apology to delegates – some of whom had walked out – having flown in on a Qatar Airways jet.
But UEFA have issued an unprecedented statement criticising Infantino’s decision. European football chiefs told Sky News: “The last-minute changes to the timings of the FIFA Congress are deeply regrettable.
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“The FIFA Congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world’s game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world. Our hosts, the Paraguay FA and our partners at CONMEBOL, had gone to considerable effort to accommodate so many delegates and we thank them for their hospitality.
“But to have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second.
“We are all in post to serve football; from the streets to the podium, and UEFA members of the FIFA Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled.”
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Infantino explained his Gulf trip while on stage by saying: “Obviously, some important discussions took place there with regards to the World Cup with some world leaders in politics and economy and I felt like I had to be there to represent all of you, to represent football, I thought I could make it on time but unfortunately we had a little issue with our flight, which caused this delay.”
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