Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546398
FORMER FIFA President Sepp Blatter remains known as a man without conscience. He was elected FIFA president in a bal- lot marked by allegations of cash handouts of $50,000 to African delegates in a Paris hotel. It was the start of his 17-year reign of shame over the world's most popular game. There was a point during his FIFA presidency, shaken by corruption scandals, where it was impossible to imagine things getting any worse. In the aftermath of the FI- FA 2026 World Cup many are undoubtedly left feeling pro- foundly disappointed by how the incumbent world football chief, Gianni Infantino has fall- en short of expectations. The tournament with 48 teams that were down to 32 af- ter the group stage is a deeply unsatisfying format, especially with the number of third-place teams that were allowed to pro- gress. It was nonsense. Infanti- no desperately needs to be told three words: "Less is more." Many will remember how Infantino commenced his in- famous speech on discrimina- tion in sports before the 2022 World Cup—a moment when no one in the annals of human civilisation appeared more tone-deaf than him. Infantino's speech was a lengthy, aggressive, and ulti- mately unpersuasive justifica- tion of holding the tournament in Qatar despite human rights concerns and documented abuse of migrant workers. In- fantino's false equivalencies were ill-received by actual suf- ferers. Blatter almost felt like a dignified statesman in compar- ison. Even before this year's World Cup got under way, Infantino messed things up. From label- ling host cities as "unsafe" and "run by radical left lunatics who don't know what they're doing" to barring entry for Ira- nian nationals, it would be an understatement to assert that the Trump administration cre- ated significant challenges for FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup. But you wouldn't know it from the way Infantino fawned over the US president. I appre- ciate that it wasn't an easy po- sition for the FIFA president to be in. However, a bit of back- bone would have been benefi- cial. From Qatar to Trump to Saudi Arabia, Infantino has been more spineless than Blat- ter ever was. Indeed, Blatter, for all his faults, was acutely aware of football's status as the glob- al game. It's popular enough around the world without desperate attempts to ape the NFL. The 2026 World Cup fi- nal staged a Super Bowl-style half-time show for the first time, with Coldplay helping to pick a list of artists to perform. Was anyone who actually likes football asking for that? The game itself always seemed to be the last thing on Infantino's mind. And whatever happened to decorum? If the Club World Cup were anything to go by, we're locked in a spiral of every FIFA tournament getting more nauseating than ever, too. We were morbidly fascinated by what fresh horrors the 2026 World Cup introduced. Say what you like about Blat- ter, but we don't remember seeing his time-tested chops in any of the Panini sticker al- bums of our youth. On the one hand, it's a trivial and insignificant matter. Blat- ter committed far more egre- gious indiscretions. On the oth- er hand, it's a perfect example of Infantino's stomach-turning smarminess. He loves the lime- light way too much; that is too much of a golden shine for a football administrator. Also, overturning Cristiano Ron- aldo's and Folarin Balogun's World Cup suspensions was a mighty injustice that happened on Infantino's watch. FIFA faces a crisis of legitima- cy when it bends its own rules to serve at the altar of superstar names and host nations' key players. When players are not subjected to the same rules, the integrity of the sport is com- promised. Yes, Balogun's red card was harsh, but they didn't even ap- peal because there was no pro- cess to do so. The striker him- self admitted it was something he had to accept. FIFA would definitely not have intervened to overturn a suspension if the same thing happened to a player from Belgium, Colombia or Egypt. Trump's statement thanking FIFA was the cherry on the icing of a particularly disgusting cake! Whole books were written about everything that was wrong with FIFA under Blat- ter's stewardship, but at least he faced up to scrutiny in press conferences. Now we've got a FIFA pres- ident for the social media age. Gone are the days when Infantino will actually field questions from journalists at the FIFA Congress. He is a man who'll provide us with announcements and updates on Instagram, with comments limited to a merry band of syc- ophants, of course, without ac- tually engaging with questions from reporters. Who knows what challenges we will face at the next FIFA World Cup? 10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 SEPTEMBER 2026 OPINION Now we've got a FIFA president for the social media age. Gone are the days when Infantino will actually field questions from journalists at the FIFA Congress The FIFA presidency: From bad to worse Mark Said Veteran lawyer Gianni Infantino