FIFA president Gianni Infantino has sparked fresh anger after responding to a bald TV reporter's questions about his future with a joke about hairdressers. Sky Sports US Correspondent James Matthews approached Infantino in the Caribbean to ask whether his now-abandoned plan to sell off the World Cup had “betrayed the game of football.”
Infantino deflects questions with hair joke
Infantino, who is himself bald, repeatedly refused to answer and instead commented on Matthews’ lack of hair. When asked if he had betrayed football, a smiling Infantino replied: “You have a nice haircut. Thank you so much.”
Matthews continued: “Why won’t you resign? Fans, FIFA associations want you to step down. Why won’t you? Have you betrayed the trust of FIFA sir?” As Infantino got into a blacked-out chauffeured 4x4, he said: “I’ll see you at the hairdressers.”
Fans react with anger and some amusement
The comments drew a wave of criticism from supporters online. One wrote: “It's tasteless and disrespectful James, especially from a president. Well done anyway for asking the questions!” Another said: “Excellent work James.”
A third wrote: “Well done. You are so good at pursuing people. GI made himself look an even bigger (clown emoji) than usual and who would have thought that possible?” Another fan said: “Still angers me to this day James. The money that global fans who wanted to be there to watch their nation play at the World Cup. Folk selling watches, cars, taking on extra hours at work or additional jobs to get more income to afford a ticket. We won’t stop till he resigns.” One supporter, however, admitted: “You have to admit that it was a good gag from Infantino.”
Ceferin condemns World Cup sell-off plan
The exchange came after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, 58, whose body is threatening to boycott the World Cup unless Infantino quits, said football politics was now more “dirty” than real politics. Ceferin told The Rest Is Politics podcast that Infantino’s plan to sell the World Cup to private investors, including an in-law of US President Donald Trump, was worse than the ill-fated bid by 12 clubs to set up a European Super League in 2021.
“I think this plan is even worse than the Super League plan,” he said. “In the first case super important clubs wanted to do their own league, which is wrong and we would destroy football. But in this case, football would be literally sold. I'm absolutely sure that the plan is dead. But things get too far. Now, in football, politics is sometimes even more complicated, or if you want, dirty than the normal politics. For me, the most important thing is that we stopped another try to sell the sport. I mean, it's hard to imagine what kind of people would sell the sport that belongs to everyone. We will not allow that to happen. The project is dead.”
Ceferin said he had no prior knowledge of Infantino's intended sell-off or his plan to present Trump with a FIFA Peace Prize ahead of the World Cup. “We didn't know anything - nothing, nothing,” he said. He described Infantino's subsequent offer of cash payments to associations to back the sell-off as akin to trying to buy someone's house with their own money. Infantino had not spoken to him since the plan was leaked. Ceferin said Infantino should either step down or be voted out, adding he had no desire to replace him at FIFA.
