FIFA boss Gianni Infantino comes to the congress too late due to a multi-day trip with Donald Trump. Europe’s football bosses therefore set an example.
Several European heads of association around DFB President Bernd Neuendorf left the hall prematurely in protest against Gianni Infantino at the 75th FIFA Congress. After a coffee break after the speech by the FIFA president, who had arrived late at the assembly in Asunción, numerous seats remained empty in the hall. Among other things, the eight Council members, which the European Football Union (UEFA) provides, stayed away from the second half.
“The situation is worrying. We now expect FIFA to explain the situation to its members and to ensure that the voices of the member associations belong and respected in the future,” said Norway’s leader Lise Klaveness in an interview with Norwegian media. She made the decision to leave the hall prematurely together with some European colleagues. The UEFA did not want to comment at first.
Infantino after Trump trip three hours late
The assembly of the FIFA member associations in Paraguay had started with more than three hours of delay due to the late arrival of Infantinos. The Swiss had accompanied US President Donald Trump on his first big trip abroad to the Middle East on the days before. The start of the congress, originally planned for 2:30 p.m. (CEST), had already been laid by one hour the day before, and on the morning of the congress day there was a laying of another two hours.
As the Sportschau reported, Infantino was only in Brazilian airspace on the journey to the planned start. Accordingly, a private pilot from Qatar Airways brought the President of the World Association to Paraguay after a stopover in Nigeria.
He had “important discussions with leading politicians and business representatives”. “I had the feeling that I had to be there to represent all of them to represent football,” Infantino told the 210 member associations present. But there was “a little problem with our flight”, he wanted to apologize for the “inconvenience”.