FIFA president Gianni Infantino mocked a Sky News reporter's baldness as he dodged questions about his future at the helm of the organisation. The follicly challenged football boss made the surprising dig as he attempted to belittle a reporter taking him to task.
Infantino has been forced to desperately cling to power after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and UEFA all withdrew their backing after the head of world football attempted to sell shares in the World Cup.
Reporter confronted in Dominican Republic
Amid the mounting pressure, Infantino was approached by Sky News journalist James Matthews, who sought to question him about his position. Rather than engaging with the reporter, he resorted to attempting to intimidate him instead.
Matthews asked him whether he had betrayed football before pressing him to explain why he had not yet stepped down. Infantino responded by taking a swipe at the journalist's appearance.
Infantino retorted: "You have a nice haircut, thank you so much. See you at the hairdressers."
Opposition from football associations
Football associations of Scotland, Albania, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Jordan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Wales have also voiced their opposition. Though Infantino has retained support from the African Football Confederation and Conmebol.
Matthews approached Infantino in the Dominican Republic. It is understood he is there to attend the Caribbean Football Union under-14s tournament, which has been controversial in itself.
CONCACAF chief urges withdrawal
While local politicians were swift to welcome him, the football bureaucrat was urged to keep his distance from the competition by CONCACAF chief Victor Montagliano, who also serves as a vice-president on the FIFA council.
Montagliano penned a letter opening with "As you may be aware, your proposed attendance has garnered significant media attention" before warning that his presence would "unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition."
The letter further stated: "As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."
Dominican minister welcomes visit
Dominican Republic Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz, however, held an altogether different view of Infantino's visit to the country. He remarked: "We deeply appreciate your visit to the Dominican Republic."
"Without doubt that your presence in our country puts us on the international football radar and opens us great prospects for growth and development of Dominican football."
Infantino is seeking election for a third term, though he looks set to face considerable opposition from rival governing bodies.
