"The desperate dependence on Trump is Infantino's most pathetic behavior"
The Telegraph presented the alliance between the two in a particularly harsh light and claimed that both are interested only in money: "The Trump card is the only one left for Infantino"
In a particularly scathing column in The Telegraph, commentator Oliver Brown attacked FIFA president Gianni Infantino for his close relationship with US President Donald Trump, arguing that the two share a similar view of football and especially the World Cup — as an asset that can be leveraged economically and politically.
Brown focused on recent remarks made by Trump in defense of Infantino, when he stated that FIFA would be making a "terrible mistake" if it removed him and added that the World Cup would "never be as successful or profitable" without him. From the columnist's perspective, the word "profitable" was the key. According to him, it reveals how both Trump and Infantino view the World Cup primarily through what can be extracted from it.
The column comes against a backdrop of growing criticism of Infantino within the football world. According to Brown, three confederations representing 139 countries have already turned their backs on him, UEFA is furious over the revealed move regarding the sale of part of the World Cup's commercial rights, and in Asia, there have even been claims of extortion. Also in CONCACAF, whose three members hosted the last World Cup, there has been criticism of FIFA under his leadership.
Brown wrote that "the Trump card is about the only card Infantino has left to play," and argued that as the relationship between the two has tightened, the FIFA president's standing elsewhere has eroded. He also mentioned Carlos Cordeiro, who was one of Infantino's close advisors and opposed the plan to sell part of the World Cup's commercial rights — and even resigned.
The criticism in the column intensifies further towards the end. Brown claimed that Infantino is "detached from reality" and "drunk on hubris," mentioning, among other things, the speech in which he previously compared his path to the FIFA presidency to Rwanda's recovery from the 1994 genocide.
According to The Telegraph, instead of resigning in the face of growing opposition, Infantino continues to cling to power and status. Brown described him as someone drawn to status, motorcades, security guards, and the presidential treatment he receives, and concluded that the connection between him and Trump is a "pathetic romance" between two people who, he says, are convinced that only their own interests are worth defending.
