FIFA President Gianni Infantino (56) has sharply attacked critics of the 2026 World Cup. In an Instagram post, he accuses them of being filled with hatred and advises them to "reflect, meditate, pray, or watch a game of football".
In his detailed message, Infantino defended FIFA's organization of the World Cup. In his opinion, the critics "missed all this joy and this sense of togetherness", they "spread hatred and false rumors" instead of celebrating football.
World Cup was accompanied by controversies
There had been several controversies surrounding the FIFA World Cup, which took place between June 11 and July 19 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These included travel restrictions that affected fans of several participating nations, among others, or the back and forth about the lifting of the red card suspension against U.S. player Folarin Balogun (25) after an alleged intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump (80).
"To all those who missed seeing children, babies, grandparents, and parents come together for the beautiful game: I'm sorry that the matches are now over, and I'm sorry that you missed all this joy and this sense of togetherness", Infantino wrote. "I'm sorry that you were so consumed by hatred and criticism that you missed all of this."
In his post, he also addresses "those who sit behind their pens and papers, behind their screens and spread hatred and false rumors". While they sit "in the background", "we at FIFA are on the front lines, organizing, working hard, and delivering the best show in the world".
"Only joy and happiness"
Infantino also stated that the World Cup had "no violence, no incidents, 100 percent safety and security, only joy and happiness", and added that seven million people from more than 200 countries attended the tournament's matches.
Infantino further wrote about the criticism: "They mentioned the few people who were denied a visa, while overlooking the millions who were granted visas from all parts of the world. Because football unites the world, and this was impressively proven this summer."
Infantino also called on critics to focus on what football achieves: uniting people. "To all those who spend their time and energy hating us: Please take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray, or watch a game of football - and while doing so, observe very closely the faces, the eyes, and the emotions", he wrote. And: "May football rise above all hatred."
As of Monday afternoon CET, the post, which has the comment function disabled, has received nearly 20,000 likes.
