Gianni Infantino has caused even more outrage, this time in one of his home countries, Italy.
The FIFA president is getting it from all angles with the World Cup kicking off, and he isn’t exactly helping himself.
The expansion of the tournament has been unpopular among those unmotivated by money, and when asked about it expanding even further, a poorly thought out joke quickly backfired.
Born in Switzerland to Italian parents, Infantino was asked on Brazilian TV about expanding the tournament even further to 64 teams and tried to get some laughs.
Infantino’s Italy joke backfires
“Even Italy could qualify,” he said with a smile. “We could even go up to 228 teams and see if it’s possible then.”
Italy, still reeling from missing their third World Cup in a row, won’t have been happy, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies responded in parliament.
Gaetano Amato commented: “Does Gianni Infantino enjoy mocking Italy because they failed to qualify for the World Cup?
“Let’s not forget that he’s not speaking like a casual fan in a bar, but as the president of FIFA.
“A role he holds thanks to the support of the Italian Football Federation, a role that should demand balance, respect, and a sense of institutional responsibility.
“We are the first to be ashamed of the decline of our national team and the disaster that Italian football is going through; we don’t need his tasteless jokes to realise it.
“Mocking Italy is incredibly petty, especially coming from someone who should represent the whole of world football, including Italy.”
This isn’t the first time Infantino’s upset a nation with a poor jibe at British fans.
Reflecting on the Qatar World Cup in January, he commented: “For the first time in history also, no Brit was arrested during a World Cup.
“Imagine! This is something really, really special.”
Infantino later apologised, saying it wasn’t his intention to offend.
Infantino hammered by Blatter
Given his missteps, Infantino continues to be attacked by his predecessors, including the man he replaced as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter.
Responding to the news of a Somali referee being sent home by US border officers, Blatter went after his old employers.
“It’s unbelievable and absurd,” he said.
“When a country is awarded the hosting of a World Cup, there are two sacred and fundamental principles.
“The first is security, which the country must guarantee for the event. The second is granting entry visas to all FIFA officials. And there’s nothing more official than a referee.
“If a country refuses entry to a referee, it’s a serious problem, and the World Cup shouldn’t be held in such a country.
“The blame lies primarily with FIFA: it abandoned this principle, which the country (the United States) failed to respect. We can’t stop the tournament, but it’s outrageous.”
Blatter then turned on his successor as FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.
“The current president should show that he’s stronger than his good friend in the White House, shouldn’t he?” he said.
“When you start letting politics control you, it’s bad. And the other federations should protest too…”
Leave a Reply