President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace has a membership list that is both unprecedented and highly unusual. While the roster places the CEO of an asset-management firm alongside the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the most peculiar inclusion is Gianni Infantino: the President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the main administrator of the international realm of association football.
The reasons why a sports administrator is included among the figures who will decide the future of Gaza are complex and stretch back to the very circumstances of his election. Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, wasn’t known for having the cleanest hands. In 2002, Blatter faced accusations of financial mismanagement, where he was blamed for losses of up to a hundred million dollars. Though FIFA cleared him of wrongdoing in 2011 and 2013, independent bodies remained skeptical. The floodgates would open in 2015 when he was indicted in a racketeering scandal, resulting in his resignation. It was now an open field for a position that was stained with corruption, controversy, and crookedness.
Enter Gianni Infantino, a Swiss lawyer-turned-administrator tasked with the tremendous responsibility of restoring FIFA’s reputation. His tenure seemed jeopardized from the get-go following his mention in the Panama Papers, yet that was promptly brushed aside. Against this backdrop of early scrutiny, however, Infantino was able to notch on his belt, overseeing two largely successful World Cups and successfully advocating for the tournament expansion to 48 teams. To many, he felt like a breath of fresh air, a clean transition from the scandal-ridden Blatter-era.
However, his refreshing image would become polluted as he would begin employing his authority in unorthodox ways. In 2020, Infantino made a trip to Rome with the intent of convincing then-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to support a potential joint World Cup bid between Italy and Saudi Arabia. Italy met him with uncertainty, so he appealed to Greece, who were also apprehensive about the proposal. This overt push from the President of FIFA to directly influence the World Cup host was, at best, shady and at worst, grounds for investigation. A neutral administrator pushing so hard for one nation to host the World Cup is both unprecedented and suggests possible collusion between the two parties.
One could also assess Infantino’s support for Saudi Arabia as him just showing support for new regions of the world to be exposed to the grandeur of the World Cup, an investment for the future growth of the sport outside of the traditional hotbeds. Yet by taking such a “globalist” position, he also enables behaviors like the sheer brutality and discrimination the Qatari government displayed in its preparations for the World Cup. When confronted about the thousands of migrant workers who have died in Qatar during the lead-up to the tournament, he bizarrely responded that he “felt like a migrant worker” and that European countries were in no position to criticize Qatari practices. His comments had the effect of dismissing human rights concerns over worker safety and LGBT discrimination, and by doing so, made him look unconcerned about valid critiques of the Qatari government.
More recently, he has been currying favor with the Trump administration, most evident by his decision to present the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to the President last December. Infantino justified bestowing such an honor by arguing that “his extraordinary actions promoted peace and unity around the globe.” A month later, the Trump administration would engage in military actions against the nation of Venezuela, followed by an ongoing campaign against Iran.
Furthermore, as the World Cup draws closer, Infantino has remained notably silent regarding the Trump administration’s imposition of travel bans on supporters from qualified countries. His only actions thus far have been insisting the Iranian national team will play despite the ongoing conflict and commenting on how the host country must be open to all supporters. It’s a far cry from the same official who once stated that the first Trump administration’s proposals for a ban on Muslims entering the country would be a red line they could not afford to cross when hosting a World Cup. Infantino has become more complacent and less aggressive when it comes to the restrictive actions that the current administration has been pressing for, and it appears he isn’t doing enough to ensure the open nature of the largest sporting event in the world.
In taking these actions, the Infantino presidency has essentially created a great deal of precedents that future leaders of FIFA could point to. By cozying up to Donald Trump and other leaders, he has tampered with the integrity of the office and set a precedent for future leaders to engage in similar deals. His dismissive stance regarding claims of human rights violations illustrates FIFA’s lack of responsibility and oversight over the development of the competition that they are the masterminds of. Infantino’s ultimate legacy opens the office of the presidency to a figure who could transform the organization into a vehicle of “sportswashing”. He allows countries with poor human rights records to use football as a mask to draw more support, creating a trend that has permeated every aspect of “Jogo Bonito”. It is a direct failure of Infantino’s lack of commitment to ensuring the neutrality of his office and the ethical development of the World Cup.
The culture Infantino has created at FIFA during his tenure is one of looking the other way and complacency in the face of human rights violations. Infantino invites sportswashing to occur on a grander scale because he himself is complicit in shifting attention away from valid critiques of those in charge of administering his cash crops. He may be better than his predecessor in that he isn’t so overt in abusing the office for his own personal gain, but he is arguably more dangerous than Blatter due to his prioritization of profit over human rights. Infantino is at risk of destroying the global community that FIFA is meant to serve and sullying a sport that connects every corner of the world.
In 2034, Saudi Arabia is expected to host the World Cup for the first time. It’s a decision that has been met with backlash due to the nation’s poor human rights record, but for Gianni Infantino, it’s just another day at the office. He’s not worried about what may unfold in the construction of the stadiums or what policies the Saudi government may impose on tourists. He remains more focused on the profit margins of FIFA and the enrichment of his legacy. Infantino is no Blatter; he is the first leader in a series of possible leaders that could potentially lead to the degradation of the sport and human dignity for the price of nothing at all.
Source: Reuters