Gianni Infantino returned to his favorite role on Wednesday: Fifa's chief explainer, the man tasked with smoothing over whatever mess the global football body has created. This time, he sat in a tent near Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, hours before the 2026 World Cup's opening match between Mexico and South Africa, ready to answer for everything that has gone wrong.
The Fifa president carried the weight of that 2022 Qatar speech with him, the one that vaulted him into internet immortality for all the wrong reasons. That rambling hour-long monologue, where he explained how he felt gay, disabled, Qatari, Arab, African, and like a migrant worker, became the stuff of meme legend. On Wednesday, the vibes felt eerily similar.
Infantino wasted little time before launching into his defenses. The Iran visa crisis came up almost immediately. Players and staff from the Iranian team have struggled to secure entry to the United States, one of the tournament's three host nations. Infantino suggested he would have personally driven them by bus if it meant getting them to the World Cup. It was the kind of hyperbolic gesture that has become his trademark.
He then pivoted to the controversy over ticket prices, which have drawn criticism for being far beyond what most fans can afford. Infantino compared the cost to playoff tickets in major American sports leagues, a comparison that glosses over an obvious truth: most Americans cannot actually afford those playoff tickets either.
The thorniest issue came next. Omar Artan, a Somali referee, was denied entry to the United States by federal officials, who cited links to suspected members of terror organizations. When a British journalist pressed Infantino on the matter, the Fifa president responded with what amounted to a shrug wrapped in bureaucratic language.
"We are not the kings of the world," Infantino said, a statement that rang hollow coming from someone whose job description reads a lot like global football's supreme authority. "We don't control everything. We try and discuss, and speak, and we'll see. Maybe sometimes it is good as well to just chill, relax, we work on everything, we try and solve everything."
Outside the stadium, Mexican protesters have been gathering to voice their grievances over what they say are unjust working conditions. Riot police have maintained a heavy presence for days. Some demonstrators have even threatened to disrupt the opening match entirely. Infantino, meanwhile, spent time recounting the stadium's glory: Pele's 1970 triumph, Maradona's magnificent goal in 1986. He called the venue "blessed."
When a reporter finally lobbed him a softball question about uniting the world, Infantino shifted into his more grandiose mode. He spoke of the World Cup's transcendent power, of the magic of the ball, of human beings being profoundly good rather than bad. He sat mere inches from the World Cup trophy as he said this, the ultimate prop.
Then came the unexpected pivot: praise for Donald Trump. Infantino suggested the tournament would never have happened without the former president's support, a peculiar claim of gratitude directed at a man who has spent years directing hostility at many of the marginalized communities Fifa claims to champion.
Author James Rodriguez: "Infantino's never changed his playbook, and Wednesday proved it: when controversy piles up, just talk louder and longer until something sticks."
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