The numerous contradictions that currently surround FIFA do not stop at the issue of Iran. The country had announced several times that it would not take part in the World Cup in the summer. In view of the serious attacks by the USA and Israel and the killing of senior Iranian leaders, it is “impossible” to take part in the tournament, which is organized by the USA, among others.
But FIFA doesn’t seem to be interested in the Iranians’ wishes. “Iran will take part in the 2026 World Cup. And of course Iran will play in the USA,” Infantino said at the congress. It’s about uniting people. “Football unites the world,” said the Swiss. It has been FIFA’s motto, its trademark, for years.
US President Donald Trump, with whom Infantino gets along very well, reacted immediately. He said that the FIFA boss had a free hand when it came to the World Cup participants. “Well, if Gianni said that, that’s fine with me,” Trump said at the White House. “I think let’s let them play.” Infantino is fantastic and a friend of his. “I said, you can do whatever you want. You can have them with you, you don’t have to have them with you,” said the US President.
Last year, Infantino honored the US president with a specially donated FIFA Peace Prize after Trump complained about being left out for the Nobel Peace Prize. Infantino was also included in Trump’s newly founded Peace Council, the only sports official among state leaders. The fact that the FIFA boss was accepted there caused astonishment among commentators. He was “an official creature by America’s grace,” wrote the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, and the US magazine “The Nation” commented sharply: “Infantino wanted to do something he loves even more than watching football: cuddling Donald Trump’s butt.”
