FIFA president Gianni Infantino has lashed out against scrutiny and criticism of his leadership and his organization, accusing critics of \u201cspreading hate\u201d and telling them to \u201cmeditate, pray or watch a football match\u201d instead of spending their energy \u201chating\u201d FIFA.<\/p>\n
The message was posted across 15 slides on his personal Instagram account<\/a> and distributed to media personnel by FIFA\u2019s communications team. It was cross-posted to the FIFA Instagram account to more than eight million people, as well as to his own 5.7 million followers. It cited his belief the World Cup \u201ccelebrated humanity at its best,\u201d saying billions of people worldwide watched the World Cup, and \u201cvirtually all global celebrities from music, movies, entertainment and sport attended.\u201d<\/p>\n Infantino, who did not conduct a news conference after the World Cup began, nor at the end of the tournament, brushed off many of the tournament\u2019s most controversial moments in the lead-up and during the competition itself.<\/p>\n In one such moment, FIFA\u2019s tournament proceeded with fans from four competing countries \u2014 Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast \u2014 hampered by U.S. travel bans imposed by the Trump administration. \u201cI think that every team can have their people, so I don\u2019t understand why people from Africa cannot have their people,\u201d Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly told<\/a> The Athletic\u00a0during the group stage.<\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s Somali referee Omar Artan was also prohibited from entering the U.S. on the eve of the tournament, with a White House official alleging the referee had an \u201cassociation with suspected members of terror organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n FIFA also faces ongoing investigations<\/a> by the Attorneys General of New York, New Jersey, Texas and California over its ticketing prices for the World Cup.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s national team also complained about the difficulties it experienced during the tournament, with captain Mehdi Taremi describing the competition as a \u201cdisaster\u201d because of the restrictions on visas and movement for members of its federation.<\/p>\n A controversy developed mid-tournament after U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was dismissed during his team\u2019s 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic one-game ban.<\/p>\n But just a day before the USMNT faced Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle,\u00a0The Athletic reported Balogun would, in fact, be available<\/a>. This was confirmed by statements from FIFA. President Donald Trump later said he called Infantino to ask for the case to be reviewed. Balogun was made eligible to face Belgium after FIFA\u2019s disciplinary committee suspended the sanction. The committee has not explained this decision, which triggered widespread accusations of political interference in the World Cup. Infantino denied this, but FIFA has faced public criticism from UEFA, the Belgian football federation and dozens of European Union lawmakers.<\/p>\n The Norwegian Football Federation intends to make a formal complaint<\/a> to FIFA over Trump\u2019s role in the suspension of Balogun\u2019s red card. NFF president Lise Klaveness confirmed the plans, which follow her federation\u2019s backing of December\u2019s ethical complaint in relation to Infantino\u2019s decision to award Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.<\/p>\n The inside story on why USMNT failed against Belgium<\/p>\n In the essay posted on his Instagram on Sunday night, Infantino wrote: \u201cTo all of you who missed watching kids, babies, grandparents, and parents come together for the beautiful game, I say sorry that the matches are now over and sorry that you missed all that joy and togetherness. Sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all.<\/p>\n \u201cTo those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens spreading hate and false rumors, I want to say that while you are sitting behind, we at FIFA are on the front lines organizing, working hard, and delivering the best show in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Infantino said that the tournament experienced \u201cno incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness!\u201d<\/p>\n He said all those who attended the tournament were \u201csafe, secure and happy.\u201d He did not mention the four people who died from suffocation during World Cup celebrations in Mexico City following Mexico\u2019s round-of-32 victory over Ecuador, as reported by the city\u2019s public health authority. The public health authority said that medical responders had performed CPR on three of the victims<\/a>, but each had died from asphyxiation and had been identified by their families. Mexico City Health Secretary Nadine Gasman later said at a news conference that another man<\/a> had passed away. The day after the tragedy, Infantino shared his condolences in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Infantino thanked the host countries, the police forces and volunteers for ensuring safety and security.<\/p>\n The Instagram post, addressed to \u201call those who \u2026\u201d continued by accusing critics of \u201cplanting seeds of hate.\u201d<\/p>\n He wrote FIFA \u201cworked tirelessly to unite two countries at war,\u201d saying \u201cIran entered the United States without incident or conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n However, four of the 15 Iranian staff members initially denied visas to enter the U.S. were granted the right to travel into the country after appealing to the State Department. By the time of Iran\u2019s third match against Egypt in Seattle, the team was able to fly to the site two days in advance, having previously been limited to flying the day before their first two fixtures in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin previously said members of the Iran traveling party had tried to sneak in a person with direct ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a group designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. An official for the Iran Football Federation called that accusation \u201cfalse, fabricated and entirely baseless.\u201d<\/p>\n Infantino\u2019s post also made no mention of a legal case brought against FIFA\u2019s attempts to prevent Iranian fans from bringing the pre-revolutionary lion and sun flag into World Cup venues.<\/p>\n Appearing to refer to the controversy over Balogun and criticism of referees during the tournament, Infantino said: \u201cYour dissatisfaction with a few decisions made by the competent authorities is understandable, but please refer to public records: such decisions are common in some of the most important leagues.<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, \u2018arguable\u2019 referees\u2019 decisions or \u2018strange\u2019 disciplinary rulings such as for instance potentially mistaken red or yellow cards or subsequent decisions not to ban players in certain situations are routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n He also appeared to suggest FIFA deserved praise for ensuring visas for some but not all to attend the tournament. \u201cYou mentioned the few people denied visas and overlooked the millions who were approved, from all parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n