FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces backlash from soccer fans after he commented on Lionel Messi‘s free-kick goal on Inter Miami’s debut against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.
Infantino shared the dramatic match winner from Lionel Messi on his Instagram story with the message, “Welcome To Miami, @leomessi.” The innocent welcome message was caught in the crossfire between the fan bases of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
FIFA President posted this? It’s very obvious now. Football used to be a beautiful Sport, i’m done with it now pic.twitter.com/Sou2NjStOo
— Twilight (@the_marcoli_boy) July 23, 2023
Certain sections of the fan base linked this message to the bias of the President of FIFA towards Lionel Messi. However, this sentiment was pushed back by others claiming that the President has shown hints of biases towards Cristiano Ronaldo as well. The fans were quicker to dig up a previous comment from Gianni Infantino on Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming “Cristiano Ronaldo is number one.”
FIFA President posted this? It’s very obvious now. Football used to be a beautiful Sport, i’m done with it now pic.twitter.com/Sou2NjStOo
— Twilight (@the_marcoli_boy) July 23, 2023
These new comments on Gianni Infantino from a certain section of fans lack real substance. There have been plenty of incidents in the recent few years when the President has shown his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for being the best soccer athletes of their time. However, none of those comments prove any bias towards either of the players.
FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino’s controversial statements on prize money distribution of Women’s World Cup
Gianni Infantino stirred some controversy with his latest comments on the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The President of FIFA expressed confidence in the ongoing event and its potential to break even financially. However, he could not guarantee the direct distribution of prize money to players participating in the tournament.
Infantino made these remarks during a media interaction in Wellington, New Zealand, on Thursday, where he addressed the situation. He explained, “We have issued recommendations, but we are an association of associations. So, whatever payments we make will be through the associations, and then the associations will make the relevant payments to their own players.”
The FIFA President tried to put a positive spin on the matter by pointing out that the prize pot for the tournament has risen significantly to $110 million from $30 million in the last edition in France.
Crowd of 31,000 for Italy against Argentina at FIFA Women’s World Cup, Eden Park. End to end football, muscular Argentina against poised organised Italy pic.twitter.com/ZAwehTf8Le
— JeremyReesnz (@JeremyReesnz) July 24, 2023
However, this figure still falls short compared to the $440 million available for the Men’s World Cup. FIFA has a mountain to climb to achieve pay parity between men and women in soccer, a target they have previously stated to achieve by 2027.
It was previously reported that players would receive at least $30,000 each, no matter where their team finished, with the players on the winning squad each earning $270,000.
Infantino concluded by reminding us to focus on the present, saying, “It’s a moment to focus on the positive, focus on the happiness, focus on the joy.” FIFA expects the ongoing event to be a financial success, anticipating a total of $500 million in revenue.
