Gianni Infantino didn't hold back. In an open letter published Monday, FIFA's president went after his critics with the kind of language you don't usually see from the head of world football's governing body — accusing them of spreading "hate and false rumours" while missing a tournament he called a triumph of unity and safety.
"You were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all," Infantino wrote. Not exactly the measured diplomatic tone FIFA usually trades in.
The 56-year-old pointed to the absence of violence, a 100% safety record across three host nations, and the participation of countries dealing with conflict, health crises, and political tension as proof that the World Cup delivered what it promised. Spain won the tournament, staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico — and by Infantino's reckoning, 63 million Americans watching the final alone says something about its scale.
The controversies he didn't name — but everyone knows
Infantino kept his letter general, but the subtext was clear. FIFA came under fire for U.S. visa restrictions that blocked supporters and officials from several nations. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was denied entry despite holding a valid visa. The Folarin Balogun red card situation — where an automatic one-match ban was suspended following intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump — drew serious scrutiny. Officiating in Argentina's match against Egypt sparked days of debate.
His defence of the refereeing criticism was pointed: "Potentially mistaken red or yellow cards or subsequent decisions not to ban players in certain situations are routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide. It's curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising."
Whether you find that convincing depends on whether you think "everyone does it" is a sufficient answer when FIFA is supposed to be setting the standard, not matching the floor.
The visa question isn't going away
Infantino leaned hard on the symbolism of Iran competing on U.S. soil and Haiti reaching a World Cup despite the country's ongoing domestic crisis. "When football brought Haiti to the world... it might be time to set aside your pens and keyboards and show some respect," he wrote.
Those are real points. The optics of Iran and the U.S. competing in the same tournament carried genuine weight. But they sit awkwardly alongside the case of Artan — a qualified referee barred from doing his job at the sport's biggest event because of where his passport was issued.
Infantino's letter reads like a man who believes the loudest critics have bad faith motives. Some do. But the questions about how FIFA handled political interference in disciplinary decisions aren't going away just because the gates are now closed and Spain has the trophy.
