Gianni Infantino has come under fire for a ‘sickening’ exchange with Donald Trump in which the FIFA boss credited the US president for making the World Cup the ‘greatest human, social and cultural event mankind has ever witnessed.’
Infantino and Trump came together for an event at Trump Tower in New York City just days out from the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The close relationship between the FIFA president and the Commander-in-chief has caused controversy over recent years and it came under renewed scrutiny after Trump asked Infantino to review the red card given to US striker Folarin Balogun earlier in the tournament.
Trump and Infantino will come together at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to hand over the World Cup trophy to the winning team.
On Friday, however, they gave an address in Manhattan in which they heaped praise on one another and celebrated a tournament which – the FIFA president claimed – has ‘exceeded all expectations.’
Infantino then lauded Trump for his influence on the World Cup, telling the president: ‘All this would not have been possible – and I say this because it’s the truth, because you don’t need people to compliment you Mr. President – this World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you.’
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has come under fire for a ‘sickening’ exchange with Donald Trump
They spoke at an event at Trump Tower in New York City just days out from the World Cup final
The FIFA president then invited the room to give Trump a round of applause.
‘This is the greatest human, social and cultural event mankind has ever witnessed. For this, I thank you. One country will be world champion but the world has already won, America has won, FIFA has won,’ Infantino continued.
‘You told me America would welcome the world and you did welcome the world. Everyone who came here enjoyed it and everyone who stayed home enjoyed it.’
The FIFA president did not address many of the controversies that have plagued this tournament such as the treatment of the Iran team or America’s decision to prevent Somali referee Omar Artan from entering the country.
And his comments did not go down well with many fans. One described Infantino’s ‘groveling’ as ‘sickening’ while another added: ‘FIFA and Infantino are a disgrace. I normally fully enjoy the World Cup, but couldn’t find much enthusiasm for this event.’
A third user called his remarks ‘beyond pathetic’ while another branded them ‘cringe’ and accused the FIFA president of ‘debasing’ himself.
Earlier, however, Trump took aim at critics of Infantino after FIFA sparked outrage at the World Cup by suspending Balogun’s ban following a call from the White House.
Balogun, 25, was thrust into the center of a global storm after it emerged that the President had lobbied FIFA boss Infantino to review his controversial red card.
The USMNT striker had been sent off during the USA’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an automatic suspension initially ruling him out of the last-16 game against Belgium.
But US Soccer chiefs – and the White House – pushed back against the punishment and the striker’s one-game ban was suspended, prompting allegations of favoritism and political interference.
Folarin Balogun was sent off for this challenge during the US’ win over Bosnia and Herzegovina
The USMNT went on to crash out of the World Cup with a 4-1 loss against Belgium and Balogun admitted earlier this week that the whole saga impacted Mauricio Pochettino’s players.
But Trump told Infantino on Friday: ‘You made another great decision… it was so much better the way it worked out because there’s no controversy: [Belgium] won the game and our team had all of its players.’
Trump then took a swipe at Infantino’s opponents, adding: ‘You’ll never get credit for it. Think if he didn’t allow [Balogun to play] and they lost. They’d say: “We would have the won the game if we had our best player!”‘
The Balogun affair piled pressure on Infantino, who was accused of caving to the White House. In response to the fierce backlash, the FIFA president insisted the decision to suspend the striker’s ban was made by ‘independent’ bodies acting ‘autonomously.’
