The World Cup has seen plenty of joyous moments already, but also an impressive string of controversies.
From Japanese fans cleaning up stadiums to Scottish food requests and Erling Haaland being a gem of a man, it’s been exciting to see some of the viral moments surrounding the tournament. But at the center of much backlash has been FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
He defended the exorbitant ticket prices which make the tournament look like an elitist shambles; concerns were raised over FIFA’s supposed political neutrality when he awarded FIFA's inaugural Peace Price to Donald Trump; he’s been using a private jet to attend two games per day, thereby adding to what the New Weather Institute has described as “the most polluting event ever”...
Then there was his tone-deaf advice that everyone “should chill” over Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry to the US, and the recent announcement he made confirming that Donald Trump will hand over the World Cup trophy to the winners at the final on 19 July... The controversies continue, and list goes on.
One grating concern gaining increasing traction are this year's controversial "hydration breaks".
