7 ways Gianni Infantino has somehow turned out even worse than Sepp Blatter
There was a point during Sepp Blatter’s FIFA presidency, shaken by corruption scandals, where it was impossible to imagine things getting any worse. But the unthinkable might have happened under Gianni Infantino’s rule.
Our expectations were low, but we’re kind of blown away by the ways Infantino has left us feeling desperately disappointed.
Here are seven reasons that Infantino has turned out to be even worse than his predecessor.
An expanded World Cup
The European Championships used to have the perfect no-nonsense format. Sixteen teams in the group stage, then straight into the quarter-finals. Every game worth watching.
No chaff, genuinely competitive qualifying, and most importantly it was perfectly balanced. None of this convoluted best-ranking third-place team nonsense that ultimately rewards mediocrity.
We’re still bitter about Portugal making it through the Euro 2016 group stage after three draws, ending up behind Hungary and Iceland.
Now the same thing’s happening to the World Cup. Thirty-two teams down to 16 was ideal for the group stage.
Next summer, we’re going to have to sit through 72 group stage matches just to whittle 48 teams down to 32. The definition of bloated.
Football’s obsession with expanding is making the sport worse. Infantino desperately needs to be told three words: ‘less is more’.
That Qatar speech
What was he thinking?
“Today I have very strong feelings, today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, today I feel African, today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel a migrant worker,” Infantino began his infamous speech ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
A short while later, he claimed he understood what it meant to be discriminated against because “as a foreigner in a foreign country, as a child at school I was bullied because I had red hair and freckles.”
No one in the history of human civilisation has been more tone deaf than Infantino on that stage, at that moment.
Blatter almost felt like a dignified statesman in comparison.
Cosying up to Trump
From declaring host cities as “unsafe” and “run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing” to denying entry to Iranian nationals, it would be an understatement to say the Trump administration is causing FIFA headaches ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
You wouldn’t know it from the way Infantino has fawned over the President, from opening an office in Trump Tower to his repulsively servile media appearances.
We do appreciate that it’s not an easy position for the FIFA president to be in. But a bit of backbone wouldn’t go amiss.
From Qatar to Trump to Saudi Arabia, Infantino has been more spineless than Blatter ever was. Some doing, that.
Half-time show
Blatter, for all his faults, was acutely aware of football’s status as the global game. It’s popular enough around the world without desperate attempts to ape the NFL.
The 2026 World Cup final will stage a Super Bowl-style half-time show for the first time, with Coldplay helping to pick a list of artists to perform.
Is anyone who actually likes football asking for that? The game itself always seems to be the last thing on Infantino’s mind.
Vanishing act
There have been whole books written about everything that was wrong with FIFA under Blatter’s stewardship, but at least he faced up to scrutiny in press conferences.
Now we’ve got a FIFA president for the social media age. Gone are the days when Infantino will actually field questions from journalists at the FIFA Congress.
A man who’ll provide us with announcements and updates on Instagram (with comments limited to a merry band of sycophants, of course) without actually engaging with questions from reporters.
The age of the vapid celebrity
Who needs to face journalists when you can appear on iShowSpeed’s YouTube channel?
Why must every flagship FIFA event feature a cameo from Salt Bae? Did we really need to see the Doyen of Dubai dickheads crashing the party when Messi lifted the World Cup?
Whatever happened to decorum? If the Club World Cup was anything to go by, we’re locked in a spiral of every FIFA tournament getting ever more nauseating.
We’re morbidly fascinated by what fresh horrors the 2026 World Cup will bring.
Sticker album
Say what you like about Blatter, but we don’t remember seeing his time-tested chops in any of the Panini sticker albums of our youth.
On the one hand, this is relatively small fry and meaningless. He’s committed far more egregious indiscretions.
On the other hand, it’s a perfect example of Infantino’s stomach-turning smarminess. He loves the limelight way too much.
A golden shiny for a football administrator? Pass the bucket.
Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal… Infantino? The sticker no child on earth dreams of being inside their packet.
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