Ignore all the scandals. Infantino breaks his silence and attacks “spreaders of lies”.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has broken his silence a week after the 2026 World Cup ends to defend the tournament hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. He launched a scathing attack on the international press, accusing it of “spreading hate and fake news” and “sowing seeds of hatred” in a lengthy Instagram post in which he ignored criticism of the tournament and controversial decisions.

In his post, which was an alternative to the traditional press conference not held during or after the tournament, the Italian-Swiss leader hailed the success of the tournament, which ended with Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina last July 19 (1-0 after extra time), stressing that the World Cup “celebrated humanity at its best” and that everyone who attended the tournament was “better”.

Infantino also praised the cooperation between the three host countries, stressing that they “worked tirelessly to unite the two warring countries”, referring to the US and Iran, adding that “Iran entered the United States without any incident or conflict” and that FIFA “cannot help but feel extremely proud and moved to see these moments of love, joy and unity”.

Ignore the criticism

After sending his message of support for the tournament, the FIFA president addressed all criticism of the organization, particularly journalists, as he slammed “those who spread hate and fake news from behind their pens, papers and screens”, accusing them of “sowing seeds of hatred”.

He also emphasized that the international press “only mentioned the few people who were denied visas and ignored the millions who were granted visas” in an attempt to respond to widespread criticism of the US entry restrictions targeting several countries, including Haiti, Senegal and Uzbekistan.

Infantino also addressed criticism of some bodies’ arbitration and disciplinary decisions, stressing that the practice in question is “widely accepted in some of the world’s biggest leagues.”

Haiti is an example… ignoring restrictions and prohibitions

In his letter, Infantino pointedly cited Haiti as an example of a team that was “disrespected before the World Cup but proved its worth”, ignoring, according to French newspaper L’Equipe, that FIFA itself had asked Haiti to change its shirt because the fixture was deemed “political” and only four days earlier Haiti had been restricted from entry by the US.

According to the newspaper, the FIFA president did not mention the Somali referee Omar Artan, who was banned from entering the United States, although he was supposed to officiate the match of the tournament. He also ignored the conflict between the United States and Iran, as Iran’s participation in the World Cup was in jeopardy until the last minute, and its entry was subject to strict rules that Iran considered unfair.

Infantino also ignored heavy criticism of high ticket prices, which prevented large sections of fans from attending stadiums to watch matches, in a tournament marred by a host of organizational and political issues that sparked widespread controversy in sporting and media circles.