G Gianni Infantino could have enjoyed a wonderful football evening last Tuesday. But instead of laughing with the Bosnians in Zenica about Italy, or rejoicing in Monterrey over Iraq’s World Cup qualification, the president of the International Federation of Association Football sat in a football stadium in the Turkish city of Antalya as one of the few spectators on the stands, watching the Iran-Costa Rica friendly. In the videos of it that he shared on Instagram, he pretended to be having a wonderful evening.
He hugged the vice president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Mohammed Nabi, the national coach Amir Ghalenoei, embraced players of the Iranian squad and praised their abilities after their 5-0 victory over the Central American side. Wasn’t there something? Isn’t there currently a war raging in the Middle East?
Hadn’t the players themselves pointed this out to him when they stood for the anthem with photos of schoolgirls who had died in a U.S. attack? Weren’t the Iranian team a few days earlier lined up with pink and purple school backpacks, “in memory of the 165 girls killed by the Americans,” as a team spokesperson put it?
Gianni Infantino, who before the World Cup in Qatar did everything to prevent rainbow-colored captain armbands, could have chided the Iranians for carrying a political message onto the field. He could also have expressed his sympathy for the victims of the war. But he did not. “Football brings unity and hope, even when circumstances are especially difficult,” he said instead. At least he seems to acknowledge that the situation in Iran is not straightforward.
Massive Flattery Offensive
And he wants, under all circumstances, to prevent the Iranians from boycotting the World Cup tournament in the summer, for which they have qualified convincingly. And so he flatters the federation with a perpetual smile on his face in his inimitable style. Iranian government officials had already demanded that they would only send the team to the World Cup if the schedule were changed in such a way that they would not have to play in the USA first, but in Mexico, for example. And although U.S. President Donald Trump had said that the team could come, but he could not guarantee their safety, FIFA, which had long since sold tickets for all World Cup matches, does not want to deviate from its schedule. For that, Infantino now has to deal with the Iranian federation.
During his trip to Turkey, he was also photographed with Maryam Yektaei, the goalkeeper of the Iranian women’s national team. He praised the development of women’s football in Iran to the skies. He also claimed to have discussed the Asian Championship with her a few weeks ago.
That tournament, in which the players were labeled traitors on state television for daring not to sing along to the hymn to the Islamic Republic, which was then murdering thousands of protesters. That tournament during which several team members sought political asylum in Australia. That tournament after which the renegade players and their families were subjected to such pressure that five of them withdrew their asylum applications.
Instead of publicly campaigning for the safety of the Iranian female players, Gianni Infantino flattered the federation of that Islamic Republic in order to save his World Cup schedule. That can certainly be described as tasteless.
