FIFA president Gianni Infantino mocked a Sky reporter's baldness as he avoided questions about his future, amid growing opposition to his leadership and controversial plans to sell stocks in the World Cup and other FIFA-affiliated competitions.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and UEFA have all withdrawn their support for Infantino. Additionally, the 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 expressed their opposition.
Confrontation with Sky journalist
Sky News journalist James Matthews approached Infantino to ask about his future. Instead of answering, Infantino responded by mocking Matthews' hair. When Matthews asked if he had betrayed football and requested an explanation for not resigning, Infantino snapped back.
Infantino, who is also bald, said: "You have a nice haircut, thank you so much. See you at the hairdressers."
Dominican Republic visit and opposition
Matthews found Infantino in the Dominican Republic, where he was reportedly attending the Caribbean Football Union under-14s tournament. While local politicians greeted him, CONCACAF head Victor Montagliano, also a FIFA council vice-president, told him to stay away from the competition.
Montagliano wrote a letter beginning: "As you may be aware, your proposed attendance has garnered significant media attention," adding that Infantino's presence would "unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition." The letter also 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."
However, Dominican Republic Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz welcomed Infantino, saying: "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 a third term as FIFA president, though he is likely to face significant opposition from other governing bodies.
