Fifa president Gianni Infantino delivered an extraordinary speech on the eve of World Cup, in which he accused the west of moral hypocrisy.
Gianni Infantino : Speech | Hair | Nationality | Young
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the current president of FIFA.
Personal details | |
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Born |
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino
23 March 1970 |
Spouse | Leena Al Ashqar |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Fribourg |
He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016.
He was re-elected as FIFA President in June 2019. In January 2020, he was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Infantino worked as the Secretary General of the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchâtel.
Gianni Infantino speech
FIFA president Gianni Infantino accused critics of World Cup host Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers of hypocrisy on Saturday, adding that engagement was the only way to improve human rights.
In lengthy, and sometimes angry, opening remarks at a news conference on the eve of the start of the tournament, Infantino rounded on European critics of the host nation over the issues of migrant workers and LGBT rights.
“I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons,” he said.
“I have difficulties understanding the criticism. We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves, many things are not perfect but reform and change take time.
“This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy,” he said.
“It is not easy to take the criticism of a decision that was made 12 years ago. Doha is ready, Qatar is ready and of course, it will be the best World Cup ever.”
Infantino drew on his own experience as the child of migrant workers growing up in Switzerland, saying he had been bullied for being Italian and for having red hair and freckles.
“I know what it feels to be discriminated [against], I know what it’s like to be bullied,” he said.
“What do you do? You start engaging, this is what we should be doing … The only way of getting results is by engaging.
“I believe the changes that have happened in Qatar would maybe not have happened, or not at least at that speed, [without the World Cup]. Obviously, we need to keep pressure, obviously, we need to try and make things better.”
Gianni Infantino hair
Gianni Infantino compared his childhood bullying due to his ginger hair to the suffering of migrant workers and the LGBT+ community in a country where homosexuality is illegal during a bizarre rant.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was branded a “numpty” after saying he knows how it feels to be gay and disabled in Qatar.
Addressing controversy over the hosting of the World Cup on the eve of it kicking off, the boss of footie’s international governing body compared his childhood bullying for having ginger hair with the suffering of migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ community in the Arab kingdom, where homosexuality is banned.
Speaking to 400 reporters, the Italian – who earns around £25million a year compared to the 82p an hour migrants were paid to build the stadiums – made a bizarre hour-long rant.
He opened it by saying: “Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker.
“We have been taught many lessons from Europeans. I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons.
“If Europe really cares about the destiny of these people, they can create legal channels like Qatar did, where a number of these workers can come to Europe to work. Give them some future, hope.”
Nationality
Infantino was born on 23 March 1970 in Brig, Switzerland. He is a son of Italian immigrant parents from Calabria and Lombardy and studied law at the University of Fribourg.
He is fluent in Italian, Spanish, French and German, and also speaks English, Portuguese and Arabic
Infantino is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the current president of FIFA
Young
Infantino started working with the UEFA in August 2000 and was appointed as the Director of UEFA’s Legal Affairs and Club Licensing Division in January 2004.
He became Deputy General Secretary of UEFA in 2007 and Secretary General of UEFA in October 2009.
Assumed office 26 February 2016 |
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Vice President | Ángel María Villar David Chung Salman Bin Khalifa |
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Preceded by | Issa Hayatou (acting) |
During his time there, UEFA introduced Financial Fair Play and improved commercial support to smaller national associations.
He oversaw the expansion of UEFA Euro 2016 to 24 teams and played a role in the conception of the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro 2020, which took place in then 13 (now 11) European nations.
In 2015, the Greek government decided to introduce a new sports law in response to the recent scandal and acts of violence and corruption mainly in Greek football.
Infantino was a member of FIFA’s Reform Committee.
On 26 October 2015, he received the backing of the UEFA Executive Committee to stand for the position of president in the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress.
On the same day, he confirmed his candidacy and submitted the required declarations of support. He promised to expand the FIFA World Cup to forty teams.
On 26 February 2016, he was elected FIFA President for a period of three years.
Infantino, who holds dual Swiss and Italian citizenship through his parents, became the first Italian to hold the Presidency of FIFA.
In Iran, after the 1979 Islamic revolution, women had been banned from stadiums when men’s teams are playing.
Infantino repeatedly warned Iranian football federation and Islamic Republic of Iran authorities about Iranian women’s rights.
On 8 September 2019, Sahar Khodayari self-immolated after being arrested for trying to enter a stadium.