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Emphasizing that Infantino has abandoned the principles of the Union
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has fired back at his successor, Gianni Infantino, amid the crisis over Somali referee Omar Artan, who was barred from entering the United States and returning to his country days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off.
Blatter told French newspaper L’Equipe that the incident was “unbelievable and crazy”, saying that FIFA’s hosting of the tournament in a country that refuses to allow international referees to enter is a violation of one of the basic principles of hosting.
“When a country is honored to host the World Cup, there are two indispensable rules: security and the provision of entry visas for all FIFA officials. There is nothing more official than a referee. If a country refuses to allow a referee to enter, that is a serious matter and the tournament should not be held there.”
The incident occurred when international referee Omar Artan arrived at the Miami airport in Florida as part of the team of referees participating in the tournament held by the USA with Mexico and Canada. However, the American immigration authorities considered him “inadmissible” in their territory and immediately returned him to the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu.
Blatter, who headed FIFA from 1998 to 2015, emphasized that the responsibility lies primarily with FIFA, accusing the current administration of abandoning this principle. He continued. “The tournament cannot be stopped now, but this issue is disgraceful… FIFA has abandoned a principle that did not respect the host country.”
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For its part, FIFA denied responsibility, explaining in a brief statement that it was “not involved in the immigration procedures of host countries”.
Blatter did not limit himself to that, but directly criticized Infantino, demanding that he show more strength in front of the American administration. “The current president needs to show that he is stronger than his close friend in the White House. . . . When you start letting politics control you, that’s a bad thing, and other federations should be protesting as well.”
Despite the severity of his statements, Blatter appeared to be in good spirits, and he joked: “I don’t have all my ability to move anymore, but I still have a part of my mind… I’m fine, I’m happy, I have a TV the size of a football pitch and I’m going to watch the World Cup because football is my life.”
Blatter (90 years old) concluded his statements by saying: “I am not always happy with what is happening, but I no longer have the power to change anything.”
