FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the global governing body’s handling of three of the World Cup’s most controversial storylines: Iran’s participation in the tournament, high ticket prices, and visa restrictions for people trying to come to the U.S.
“We don’t live on the moon, we live on planet earth, and you have to deal with different situations,” Infantino told reporters on Wednesday. “We try to do our best.”
The press conference in Mexico City was Infantino’s first in three years. At his last pre-World Cup press conference in Qatar in 2022, Infantino notoriously said: “Today I have very strong feelings, today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, today I feel African, today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel a migrant worker,” in an attempt to show his sympathy for victims of Qatar’s preparations for the tournament, remarks he joked Wednesday that “you all remember.”
Infantino was not nearly as conciliatory when talking about U.S. immigration policy.
American officials have so far turned away team staff members, federation officials, journalists and a referee. Infantino response? “Maybe sometimes it’s good to just chill, relax. We work on everything, to solve everything.”
