- Infantino had been giving his keynote speech at the meeting in ParaguayÂ
- FIFA chief had accompanied Trump during trip to Qatar and Saudi ArabiaÂ
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Angry FIFA members turned their back on president Gianni Infantino as they dramatically walked out during his speech at the organisation’s congress, after he turned up late following events he attended alongside Donald Trump.
Infantino had joined Trump on the US president’s trip to Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week, which he prioritised over the annual gathering of FIFA’s membership in Paraguay.
The Swiss, 55, took a private jet from Qatar to Asuncion but arrived at the meeting several hours late, sparking a furious reaction from delegates.
And Infantino suffered the embarrassment of several officials walking out in protest, including eight members of the ruling FIFA council and the head of the FA, Debbie Hewitt.
Norway Football Federation president Lise Klaveness criticised Infantino and said his late arrival was ‘disappointing’ and ‘concerning’.
‘I understand the frustration and disappointment from European Fifa members, and we feel sorry for the excellent hosts in Paraguay,’ Klaveness said in a statement.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had accompanied Donald Trump on a visit to the Middle East
Infantino was subsequently late for FIFA’s annual meeting of its membership in Paraguay
Several delegates walked out of the meeting in protest at Infantino’s late arrival
‘We now expect Fifa to explain this situation to its members and ensure that the voices of the member associations are heard and respected going forward.’Â
UEFA were also unhappy, blasting the late change to the congress schedule for ‘what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests’.
Infantino, who had delayed the congress by three hours, apologised to FIFA’s membership but defended his trip to the Middle East with Trump.
‘Let me just start by presenting my apologies for the inconvenience for having to move the Congress kick-off time,’ he told delegates.
‘Also for having arrived later than what I would have wanted… As president of FIFA, I decided to be for the last two of days in the Middle East, knowing that the 2034 World Cup will be in Saudi Arabia, the 2022 World Cup was in Qatar and that the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States and the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
‘Obviously some important discussions took place there with regards to the World Cup with some world leaders in politics and economy and I felt like I had to be there to represent all of you, to represent football.
‘I thought I could make it on time but unfortunately we had a little issue with our flight, which caused this delay.’
Trump had met with Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Qatari emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani during the trip to the Middle East, with Infantino joining the meetings.
Infantino has regularly been pictured with Trump ahead of the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup.Â
The US president has described Infantino as ‘my good friend for a long time’, while the FIFA head defended his relationship with Trump in February, insisting it was ‘crucial for the success of a World Cup’.
Infantino appeared at the White House a little over a week ago in the first public meeting of the Trump administration’s 2026 World Cup taskforce.
