"We experienced no violence, no incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness!" That quote, from FIFA president Gianni Infantino's 15-page Instagram post this week, tells you everything you need to know about how detached from reality the Swiss administrator has become.
The full statement — cross-posted to the FIFA website, apparently because Instagram wasn't official enough for a 15-page grievance — contained eight uses of the word "hate" and fifteen individual accusations against unnamed critics. It is the kind of document that gets written at 2am by someone who should probably step away from the screen.
What Infantino Actually Defended
Let's run through what "only joy and happiness" apparently covers. Iran was one of four nations — alongside Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast — whose fans were denied entry entirely. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was refused a visa too. Four of Iran's fifteen originally denied staff members were eventually granted entry, which Infantino spun as proof that "Iran entered the United States without incident or conflict."
The final itself ended with Argentine player Leandro Paredes apparently striking Spanish midfielder Rodri during the celebrations. There were street clashes in Buenos Aires afterwards, with reports of police officers being assaulted. Infantino's tournament of "no incidents" was eventful right up to the final whistle.
Then there was the Balogun affair — the one that will follow this tournament around for years. USMNT striker Florian Balogun was sent off against Bosnia, ban incoming. Trump called Infantino. FIFA suspended the red card. Balogun played against Belgium, Team USA lost anyway, and the integrity of the sport's disciplinary process was quietly binned. Infantino's response was to argue that strange disciplinary decisions happen in top leagues all the time. Which is true. The difference is that those decisions aren't typically triggered by a presidential phone call to the governing body's chief executive.
The Bigger Picture Here
Infantino earns $6 million a year. He has presented Trump with a FIFA "Peace Prize," appeared in the Oval Office on multiple occasions, and attended Trump's Board of Peace meetings. Sources have told the New York Post that Trump now believes Infantino should be the next UN Secretary-General. This is the relationship Infantino has spent his second Trump term cultivating.
The concern for anyone who actually follows this sport — and watches how its governing body makes decisions — is straightforward. When disciplinary rulings can be altered by a phone call from a head of state, the competitive framework is compromised. Any betting market built around team suspensions and lineup availability is operating on a foundation that FIFA just admitted can shift based on political pressure.
Infantino signed off by urging his critics to "find peace" and suggested they "reflect, meditate, pray, or watch a football match." Fifteen pages. Eight uses of the word hate. A suggestion to meditate.
The tournament's highest resale ticket price hit $2.3 million on FIFA's own official platform. At least someone found joy and happiness.
