FIFA President Gianni Infantino has taken to social media to launch an extraordinary attack on his critics, accusing them of "spreading hate and false rumours" from behind their screens.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Infantino issued a robust defence of the 2026 World Cup, which was hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
He started his statement by addressing anyone who might have boycotted the event, saying they were "consumed by hate."
"To everyone who missed our beautiful game, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the deception, and the joy. To all of you who missed watching kids, babies, grandparents and parents come together for the beautiful game... sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all," he wrote.
The 15-slide post downplayed several controversies at the World Cup. According to Infantino, Iran entered the USA "without incident or conflict." He added that FIFA "worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war." The Iranian team had to relocate its base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, after several members of the coaching staff had their visas revoked.
While the Iranian team were allowed to travel to the US to play their games, they were forced to leave the country shortly after the final whistle.
Infantino went on to add that "countries facing health issues or other challenges were granted visas", and that the media "mentioned the few people denied visas [while overlooking] the millions who were approved, from all over the world."
The World Cup was marred by a US-imposed travel ban on citizens from Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, with visitors from Algeria, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Tunisia having to pay a $15,000 deposit.
Notably, Swiss striker Breel Embolo initially saw his visa rejected, and Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained for seven hours before being allowed into the US. Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry into the US upon arrival at Miami International Airport despite holding a valid US visa and a diplomatic passport.
Reflect, meditate and pray'
Addressing the safety at the event, Infantino wrote, "we experienced no violence, no incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness."
FIFA is actively investigating several Argentinian players and staff members for their involvement in physical altercations with Spanish players after the final of the event. It opened another investigation into influencer IShowSpeed suffering racial abuse in while attending a game between Cape Verde and Argentina.
Addressing Folarin Balogun's deferred suspension for the match between host country USA and Belgium, Infantino argued that the decision was "routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide" before adding, "it's curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising".
The decision to defer Balogun's suspension was widely criticised by several countries and the European Union of European Football Associations, with members of the European Parliament asking for an investigation into Infantino's role in the case. Belgium filed an appeal against the decision, which was denied shortly before the start of the game.
He closed his statement by telling "people who spend their time hating [FIFA]" to "reflect, meditate or pray".
"To the pens and papers, to all the screens, may you find love and peace where the people behind you couldn't. May you find peace; we at FIFA have found ours and we deliver it, by delivering the most outstanding FIFA World Cup. May football rise above all hate. Finally I am incredibly proud, as FIFA President, to have contributed, even a little, to this show. It's a great feeling! Much love to all."
