Sepp Blatter has called for “new leadership” at Fifa, joining La Liga president Javier Tebas in demanding Gianni Infantino step down — after a World Cup marred by political interference, ticket price anger and a scandal over a suspended red card that both men say nearly cost Infantino his job.
The former Fifa president, who led the organisation for 17 years before his own downfall, posted on Twitter after the US striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban was overturned by Fifa’s disciplinary committee following a phone call from US President Donald Trump. “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls,” Blatter wrote. “They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.” He added: “If a US President intervenes with the Fifa President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, Fifa?”
“Blatter and Tebas call for Infantino to quit amid World Cup scandal over Trump-intervened red card suspension.”
Spain’s World Cup victory on Sunday did little to silence Tebas, who told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that Infantino is “destroying the football industry”. He accused Infantino of prioritising the World Cup over national competitions and criticised proposals to expand the 2030 tournament to 64 teams. “Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense,” Tebas said. “Not everything can revolve around the World Cup. It is the national competitions that sustain this sport.”
Tebas admitted he believes Infantino’s “time is up” but acknowledged the 56-year-old is likely to be re-elected for a fourth term at Fifa’s March congress, potentially unopposed for the third consecutive time. “There’s no opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose,” Tebas said. “He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave.” He called Fifa’s election system “rotten at its core”.
Both men pointed to the Balogun affair as a moment that could have ended Infantino’s reign had the United States not been eliminated by Belgium in the last 16. Tebas said: “They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the USA, because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job. Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Blatter doubled down with a fresh post after the final, writing: “The longest World Cup has come to an end – with the right champions. But on the way to the final whistle, the tournament had lost its credibility. Politics must not be allowed to overshadow the game. Now it is up to the fans, players and national associations to reclaim football and bring it back to its roots under new leadership.”
European football’s governing body Uefa also criticised Fifa’s decision to overturn Balogun’s ban, calling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, and Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin did not attend the World Cup final as a result. Infantino, who has been Fifa president since 2016, has faced widespread criticism over ticket prices, over-commercialisation and his close relationship with Trump. But with no challenger on the horizon, the calls for his resignation — even from his disgraced predecessor — appear unlikely to force him out.