FIFA's Erosion Under Political Influence

Hey everyone, Wlcome back to News Girls. I'm Mabel. and today I want to talk about President Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino because after researching him for the past couple days, I honestly think this corrupt shadowy guy explains one of the biggest controversies that are going on right now about the World Cup. It all started with a phone call from President Trump after the U.S versus Bosnia soccer game last week. One of America's star players got a red card, meaning he would have to sit out the next game. You probably all heard about this And instead of letting the rules of soccer just like play out naturally, the president of the host country, President Trump called up his close buddy Infantino, demanding that this be looked at again And in an unprecedented move, hours later, this player was cleaar to be in the next game giving the US an advantage in this World Cup And now soccer federations and officials across the world are infuriated accusing FIFA of political interference and kissing up to Trump And as shocking, And upsetting as the story is, I spent days digging into Infantino and realiz that the bigger story behind all of this is the very opportunistic relationship between Trump and Infantino Literally calls him my boy because of how close they are. Infantino has a FIFA office in Trump towower that sits empty and is just for show. He's traveled with Trump throughout the Middle East and was actually by his side during the Israel Gaza peeace deal. And even though the World Cup is supposed to be about bringing people around the world together and just kind of be above politics, it is beginning to feel like the World Cup is just another way for Trump to really showcase the power of his presidency So let's get into what has been going on behind the scenes. So first, really quickly, let me just explain what happened. During the U.S. match against Bosnia last week, striker Filarein Balligan was shown a red card. and under FIFA rules, getting a red card basically means that you're automatically suspended for the next match But according to the New York Times Reuters, Trump personally called up FIFA President Gianni and Fantina after the game and demanded that he personally review the decision And while that was going on, while Trump was kind of handling the top heads of FIFA, senior members of the Trump administration, like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutniick and Andrew Giuliani, who is, yes, Rudy Giuliani's son and He's actually in charge of the White House's task Force for the World Cup called lawyers to help the U.S. Soccer Federation try to appeal this decision, which by the way is actually appealing like this is against Bef hiss own rules It's clear that none of that is really being followed because winning this World Cup is really important to Trump Balligan is one of the best players on the team and is kind of essential in helping the U.S. get to the quarterfinals for the first time in twenty four years. And it's clear that Trump really wants that triumph under his presidency. I mean, sports is such a surefire way to kind of unite the country. That's something that everybody knows. And Trump maybe just wants everyone to forget what the country has been going through the past couple months with the Epstein files and this war that we're still in, he wants everyone to rejoice under this championship But the question is kind of like, how did Trump get this guy back into the game. What levers did he pull? Something we know Trump knows how to do better than anyone is to dig up dirt on his opponents And that's exactly what Trump's team did So, they found out that the referee during this specific game was accused of match fixing and giving out irregular cards in Brazil And even though Brazilian authorities and FIFA have investigated him and found that he didn't really do anything wrong, Trump brought up those allegations on his call with Infantino And somewhere along the way, somewhere along the way of everyone calling up FIFA and trying to get this overturned Vagan was allowed to play again and the world has simply erupted over it whichich I think brings us to the next part of the story, which is who exactly is Gianni Infantino? and why is he letting this happen So Most Americans obviously don't really care about soccer and wouldn't be able to pick this guy out of a lineup, but he is the president of FIFA and he has been since twenty sixteen and he oversees The World Cup, which is the biggest boarding event on the planet. He's actually a lawyer by training. and when he took over FIFA, he was supposed to help clean up the organization after years of corruption scandals, which obviously now is ironic since Infantino has been in Trump's pocket since Trump's first term as president And obviously I understand being in charge of the World Cup, you kind of need to work with governments. This World Cup has one hundred and four matches across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Millions of people are traveling for it. you need visas, you need to work on safety, advertising money. There's a certain amount of working together and working with governments that is needed But this relationship between Infantino and Trump extends way beyond any kind of professional bounds. Infantino has been just flagrantly courourting Trump for years and Trump has just been lapping it up. Infantino has showered Trump with praise, trophies, and a medal. You've all probably seen this. The FIFA Peace Prize, which makes Just zero sense. likeike why would a soccer federation have a peeace prize Obviously, Infantino knew how much Trump wanted the Nobel Peace Prize as did everyone else get it, so he made up a prize to give to Trump And reporting from The New York Times explains how like FIFA board members and senior officials were so confused by the award and they've confirmed that it was very hastily arranged. So it's just kind of a last minute thing to throw together to kiss up to Trump And it was such a bad look that the president of Norway Soccer Federation has joined an ethics complaint against Infantino saying that he breached FIFA statutes on political neutrality But still, Trump bathed in his glory as he loves to do and said, quote, this is truly one of the great honors of my life when he got this prize Infantino has traveled to Mar a Lagol lot, he's always at Trump's golf courses. He actually came to Melania's documentary premiere in January and has come to the White House just so much that he has once called it home, quote, always happy to be here at home if I can say that, to which Trump said, quote, you are home the relationship is so weird. He's also traveled with Trump in more political contexts, which is weird. Like he toured the Persian Gulf with Trump last May, which actually caused Infantino to be late to FIFA's own annual meeting in Paraguay. So he was kind of prioritizing hanging out with Trump over leading his own institution, and European soccer leaders were so pissed about this that they actually walked out to, quote, protest his prioritization of private political interests This example specifically alarmed me. Trump actually invited Infantino to Egypt last October to be there while Trump marked the Gaza ceasefire deal Why would this soccer guy be there? I mean, he was obviously the only sports official in attendance. and that's when Trump was like, quote, Oh, my boy is here So who are obviously extremely close. FIFA also leased an office on the seventeenth floor of New York's Trump Twer that people who work in the building have said is just empty all the time. And it was obviously just so unnecessary to open this office. FIFA opened their North American hub in Miami two years ago and it's this like glitzy glamorous hub. but This is a way to cozy up to Trump in the most obvious way you're basically paying him and his family, the Trump organization directly to get into the president's good creases And like I said, Trump is just kind of welcomed Infantino into his orbit with very open arms and kind of used Infantino's desperation to tap into the U. S. soccer market and make the World Cup profitable to kind of shape this world event as a part of Trump's own agenda Trump has, for example, made it really difficult for foreign travelers to obtain visas. We've reported on how he's denied entry to a Somalian referee and a soccer photographer from Iraq Trump definitely also had some influence in the way that Iran was treated during the World Cup, which has gotten a lot of criticism. Like obbviously, the US is at war with Iran and because of it ban Iranian players from staying on U. S. soil after their games. Iranian players actually have to fly back to Mexico in between matches. They have to leave two hours after the final whistle or face eviction. and obviously this is okayed by FIFA, even though this puts Iranian players out at a deficit. And that is why this relationship between Trump and and Fatino is cause for concern and is turning this event into a Trump centric event. And if anything, I think these examples really help us understand why we need to scrutinize FIFA because of the fact that it's kind of positioned itself into a geopolitical institution. But I do want to be clear, it isn't just the U.S. Infantino has built really weirdly close relationships with other leaders around the world, no matter their politics. It's very clear that FIFA isn't like the Olympics committee that wants to stay neutral and kind of set an example with countries that don't abide by kind of global laws, In Fantina will go where the money and the opportunity is For example, he's appeared next to Vladimir Putin during Russia's World Cup. He's worked closely with Saudi Arabia because the kingdom has become super central to FIFA's future because of how much money they have. And remember, these are countries with human rights abuse claims Russia is in the middle of a war, but This hasn't affected infantinos stance. And now, Infantino has just seized his biggest opportunity, which is to build a higher profile in the world's biggest consumer market. And This wasn't easy for him mean, I mean, this was his goal for so long. He actually failed to woo the Biden administration since FIFA was literally drowning in corruption scandals and Biden was just like, I want nothing to do with you But he found an ally in Trump who calls him quote the king of soccer. And I'm sure he's also hoping that Trump helps drop the dozens of convictions and indictments that the Justice Department actually has against FIFA So ultimately, I think that is why this Rd card story has become so much bigger than just like a simple soccer controversy. It has really pulled back the curtain on how political the World Cup has become whichich again, is ironic since sports is kind of a place that people go to to escape politics. And this also goes to show how under Trump's leadership, institutions are continuously beginning to erode FIFA was invented in nineteen oh four in Paris to provide unity among soccer organizations, but Now, like CBS and the Justice Department and the FBI and so many countless organizations, they've started to crumble under this Trump administration and kind of bow down to what his desires are. Tonight is the U.S. match against Belgium. And obviously Belgian authorities have been furious about this call and launched their own investigation into this, but It does look like the game will go on as Trump wills it Infantino has also announced that when the World Cup ends next week, both him and Trump will present the trophy to the winning team together even though This has been a role strictly for the FIFA president. Thanks everyone for tuning into another episode of News Girls. Remember to Like this video, subscribe to us on Instagram, TikTok, Substack. We come out with short from content, newsletters. Let us know what other stories you're interested in hearing from us that you want us to dive deep into And yeah, I'll see you guys next time I