By Andrew Warshaw
December 16 – He did not feel gay, he did not feel like a migrant worker, he did not feel disabled.
Almost a month after his extraordinary rant on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA president Gianni Infantino struck a more pragmatic, dignified tone today at his final press conference in Doha.
But there was still a hint of self-promotion as the tournament draws to a close.
Praising Qatar’s authorities for putting on “the best World Cup ever” (where have we heard that before?), Infantino for the most part focussed on the undoubted joyful atmosphere and cited the “unique cohesive power” of the tournament.
He defended the decision to stage the World Cup in winter in terms of players’ fitness, he defended the additional time added on at the end of matches – on average 10 minutes – and (really!) he defended referees despite Morocco being latest country to protest about the at times dire officiating.
He also defended his position when it came to FIFA banning political statements by the players on the eve of the tournament which led some European countries, notably Denmark and Germany, announcing they would not vote for him when he stands for re-election in March next year.
“It’s not about prohibiting or not prohibiting, it’s about regulations,” Infantino argued without explaining why FIFA only issued the OneLove armband ban at the last minute.
“Everyone is entitled to express his views and beliefs but when it comes to the field of play, you need to respect football.”
On the subject of his re-election, Infantino, who took over in 2016, will not have pleased his critics by confirming that by virtue of a technicality, he could end up staying in power longer than some might like.
A quirk of FIFA’s statutes means the first three years of Infantino’s presidency – when he completed an unfinished term started by Sepp Blatter – does not count against the 12-year limit agreed to in reforms passed during the Fifagate scandal.
This means, said Infantino, that despite seven years in the job already, “currently I am in my first term of office” and that his second full term would begin in March.
He couldn’t resist throwing in how he had personally helped transform FIFA’s financial distribution since taking over from Blatter.
“Before I became FIFA president about €300 million a year were invested in football development programmes. As of January it will be €2.25 billion. So seven times more. All done in full transparency.” Mmmm….
In terms of fresh news, it now seems highly likely that Fifa will think again when it comes to the format of the first ever 48-team World Cup in 2026.
Currently, the new format would see 16 groups of three teams – with the top two going through to a round of 32. But this could mean a spate of dead rubbers and pre-arranged results.
Given the excitement of how many groups games in Qatar went down to the wire, Infantino confirmed reports that FIFA may stick with groups of four.
“I have to say that after this World Cup and the success of the groups of four which have been absolutely incredible, I think we have to re-discuss the format.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713604436labto1713604436ofdlr1713604436owedi1713604436sni@w1713604436ahsra1713604436w.wer1713604436dna1713604436