Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has urged the world of football to kick Gianni Infantino out of the role, claiming the recent World Cup “lost its credibility” due to the actions of his successor.
Blatter – whose own Fifa presidency was rife with accusations of corruption – insisted that “politics must not be allowed to overshadow the game”, seemingly in reference to Infantino’s close relationship with US president Donald Trump, which helped lead to the controversial overturning of USA striker Folarin Balogun’s ban for the red card he received against Bosnia.
Trump intervened, getting on the phone to Infantino urging him to look at Balogun’s sending off and, in due course, Fifa unprecedentedly suspended the ban for a year, enabling the forward to play in the last-16 clash with Belgium, where the US were hammered 4-1.
And reflecting on the World Cup, which ended on Sunday evening with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in an ill-tempered final, Blatter was unimpressed.
“The longest World Cup has come to an end – with the right champions,” he wrote on social media. “But on the way to the final whistle, the tournament had lost its credibility.
“Politics must not be allowed to overshadow the game. Now it is up to the fans, players and national associations to reclaim football and bring it back to its roots under new leadership.”
Blatter followed this missive with a string of hashtags including ‘Fifa half-time show’, ‘Donald Trump’ and ‘Gianni Infantino’.
The ex-Fifa president wasn’t the only man to criticise Infantino and call for his removal, with LaLiga president Javier Tebas specifically calling out the Balogun incident.
“The suspension of the American player’s ban is an extremely serious matter,” said Tebas in an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the US because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job. Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Tebas went further, saying he believe Fifa is “destroying the football industry” by expanding international competitions at the expense of domestic leagues and clubs.
When asked if he believes Infantino should quit, Tebas said: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”
Infantino said back in April that he would seek re-election for a fourth term as Fifa president, with the vote for the 2027-2031 cycle scheduled to take place in Morocco on 18 March next year. He may well run unopposed but even if another candidate emerges, the chances of them winning are miniscule.
“He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave,” Tebas added. “There’s no opposition candidate; no one wants to run to lose.
“This is the system, and it’s a system that’s flawed from the ground up. I’ve heard a lot of people against Infantino, who don’t agree with what he’s doing. They say it, but then they don’t do anything.”
Tebas and Blatter aren’t the only dissenting voices, with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin not attending the World Cup final following a series of disagreements between Uefa and Fifa over disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics and match operations.
Additional reporting by Reuters
