Infantino tells Fifa critics to 'meditate, pray or watch football'

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has told critics to "meditate, pray or watch a football match" instead of "spreading hate and false rumours" about his leadership, the governing body and the World Cup. In a 15-slide post on his personal Instagram account, reposted to Fifa's eight million followers, Infantino addressed "those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens" to affirm his belief that, while they were "busy planting seeds of hate", Fifa was delivering the "greatest event on earth".

World Cup praised as 'celebration of humanity'

Infantino said the World Cup "celebrated humanity at its best", adding that the 2026 tournament had "100% safety and security, only joy and happiness". He downplayed several of the tournament's high-profile controversies and hailed the involvement of Iran, who featured at the World Cup despite their ongoing conflict with co-hosts the United States, as a success. He said Fifa "worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war", with Iran entering the country "without incident or conflict".

Iran's experience contradicts Infantino's claims

Infantino's comments are in stark contradiction to those of Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei, who said his team were the "most oppressed" at the World Cup. Iran faced visa delays, "integral" members of their backroom staff were denied entry to the US, and fans had their allocation of tickets revoked. Iran also had to move their training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico following a multitude of logistical issues in the build-up to the tournament. They later encountered restrictions on their movements as they travelled between their training base and group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Such issues were not unique to Iran. Fans from Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast were impacted by travel bans imposed by the Trump administration. Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single-entry US visa, because of his "association with suspected members of terror organisations".

Infantino wrote: "You mentioned the few people denied visas and overlooked the millions who were approved, from all parts of the world. Because football unites the world, and it was impressively demonstrated this summer."

Security and incidents under scrutiny

Doubling down on the tournament's safety, Infantino said there were "zero incidents, zero violence, just joy, emotions, happiness, unity, and togetherness". However, Fifa is investigating Argentina's actions after players and backroom staff were involved in altercations with Spain's players after losing the World Cup final. It is also investigating allegations of racist abuse towards American social media influencer IShowSpeed, while supporters were arrested at multiple matches, including following England's semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were also controversially present at World Cup stadiums.

Officiating controversy over Balogun ban suspension

Infantino also addressed criticism surrounding the standard of officiating at the tournament, in particular concerns about political interference after USA forward Folarin Balogun was made available for their last-16 tie when his one-match ban was suspended by Fifa, following the intervention of US President Donald Trump. Of the 191 other red cards shown at a men's World Cup, only one other player has escaped a suspension. Uefa said the decision had "crossed a red line", labelling it "unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable", while the Norwegian Football Federation is considering filing a formal complaint to Fifa's ethics committee.

Infantino, however, argued that such decisions are not out of the ordinary, claiming similar rulings are "routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide". He added: "It's curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising."