FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s decision to join Donald Trump’s Gulf tour has been criticised by European football’s governing body after he arrived late for the biggest annual gathering of the global game.
In a statement to Sky News, UEFA criticised “private political interests” being prioritised, with Mr Infantino becoming one of President Trump’s closest non-American allies.
Not only did Mr Infantino miss key FIFA events, including an official dinner in Paraguay, but the start of the FIFA Congress was delayed by hours on Thursday.
Mr Infantino was late after flying in from Doha after attending a state dinner held by the emir of Qatar to mark Mr Trump’s visit. The football boss had previously been in Saudi Arabia with Mr Trump and spent time with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
After flying into Paraguay on a Qatar Airways private jet, Mr Infantino did open his delayed address to the FIFA Congress by “presenting my apologies for the inconvenience for having to move the Congress kick-off time”.
But that annoyed UEFA, who issued an unprecedented public rebuke after tensions with Mr Infantino had thawed in recent years.
UEFA told Sky News: “The last minute changes to the timings of the FIFA Congress are deeply regrettable.
“The FIFA Congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world’s game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world.
“Our hosts, the Paraguay FA and our partners at CONMEBOL, had gone to considerable effort to accommodate so many delegates and we thank them for their hospitality.
“But to have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second.
“We are all in post to serve football; from the streets to the podium, and UEFA members of the FIFA Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled.”
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Mr Infantino justified his trip by pointing to the US being the main host of the 2026 men’s World Cup and Saudi Arabia staging the event in 2034.
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He told delegates at the FIFA Congress in Asuncion: “Obviously some important discussions took place there with regards to the World Cup with some world leaders in politics and economy and I felt like I had to be there to represent all of you, to represent football, I thought I could make it on time but unfortunately we had a little issue with our flight, which caused this delay.”
