Heavily criticized in recent months, Gianni Infantino, the boss of Fifa, has come out of his reserve. Boycott of the World Cup, Peace Prize awarded to Donald Trump… During an interview with the British television channel Sky News, he did not avoid the subjects which have angered football fans across the planet.
In recent weeks, the idea of a boycott of the competition has made its way around the world. The images of extremely aggressive interventions by the various American immigration police have shocked people all over the world. Two demonstrators, who had not been guilty of any violence, as shown by the amateur images filmed on the days of the two tragedies, were killed by several gunshots.
Other scenes, captured by Americans, show ICE or the Border Patrol, the two main law enforcement agencies responsible for arresting illegal immigrants, acting very aggressively. As much to denounce these practices as to protect themselves, many people have announced their intention not to travel to the United States in this context. Sepp Blatter, Gianni Infantino’s predecessor at the head of Fifa, had also relayed the call of a famous Swiss anti-corruption lawyer to “avoid the United States” this summer.
Infantino: “I am against boycotts”
Donald Trump’s desire to seize Greenland, a European territory at the gateway to America, has also accentuated the gap between the two continents.
The idea has also touched upon certain Federations, notably in Germany. For the moment, no national team has announced that they will give up the trip, but the simple fact that the possibility has surfaced has sounded the alarm within Fifa. So Gianni Infantino stepped up to the plate.
“I am against bans as well as against boycotts. I don’t think they add anything. They simply contribute to more hatred, the FIFA president tried to justify. Is anyone calling for the UK to stop trading with the US? I haven’t heard anything like that. So why football? »
There is indeed, in the public debate, a background noise concerning a boycott of American products. Europe is also trying to have a “European preference” adopted in terms of public purchasing, particularly in the most strategic sectors.
Football as “soft power”
“In our divided and aggressive world, we need opportunities where people can come and come together around the passion” for football, added the 55-year-old leader. This is precisely the whole point of a boycott: football acts as “soft power”, several countries having, in the past, used sport to buy themselves a good image.
This is undoubtedly why Gianni Infantino presented the Peace Prize to Donald Trump at the beginning of December during the draw for the World Cup. “Objectively, he deserves it,” said Infantino, who regularly displays his closeness to the American president. “Whatever we can do to help peace in the world, we must do,” he concluded.
