Football Could Not Be More Corrupt – Since Infantino Arrived

Gianni Infantino, president of the international football federation FIFA, has taken football corruption to a new level, moving beyond bribery scandals to what critics describe as "Trumpification." Infantino's leadership has been marked by controversial choices, including the hosting of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, for which he received a friendship order from Vladimir Putin, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where thousands of migrant workers died during stadium construction.

Infantino's approach to international relations has drawn significant criticism. He awarded a peace prize to Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, a move that prompted a formal complaint from Norway to FIFA's ethics committee. Furthermore, the Somali World Cup referee Omar Artan was recently denied entry to the U.S., highlighting FIFA's perceived inaction on migration policies.

Despite these controversies, Infantino continues to engage with authoritarian leaders. He was recently seen at a World Cup match alongside the president of the Swedish Football Association, Simon Åström. Åström reportedly used the opportunity to voice his criticism of FIFA's peace prize, a gesture seen as a small act of defiance against the organization's direction.

“

I really thought when the FBI raided the old FIFA hotel in the spring of 2015 that now it will get better, because it can't get worse. [...] More than ten years later, I stand here and realize that I was completely wrong.