“He s a dictator,” ex-FIFA president slams Infantino over FIFA leadership
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has launched a fierce criticism of his successor, Gianni Infantino, describing him as a dictator and suggesting that the current FIFA president needs psychiatric help.
In an interview with German publication Der Spiegel, the 90-year-old former football administrator criticised several of Infantino’s leadership decisions, including the introduction of a FIFA Peace Prize for US President Donald Trump ahead of the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Blatter also criticised Infantino’s now-abandoned proposal to sell part of the tournament’s future commercial rights, which was met with strong opposition from the global football community.
“FIFA is suffering. It is currently led by a person who has allowed himself to be blinded,” Blatter told Der Spiegel.
Speaking about the controversial award presented to Trump, Blatter described the gesture as “embarrassing” and disconnected from geopolitical realities.
“Why would he do something like that?” Blatter questioned. “Infantino awards a peace prize to someone who wages war against Iran shortly afterwards? That’s madness.”
Blatter further accused Infantino of using FIFA’s financial resources to consolidate his influence among member associations and secure continued re-election.
“‘If you vote for me’, he tells the national associations, ‘You will get much more money than before’,” Blatter claimed. “He is a dictator. People in FIFA tell me that no one is allowed to ride in the elevator with him. He is ‘untouchable’.”
Reaffirming his opposition to Infantino’s commercial plans for the World Cup, Blatter added: “Infantino no longer knows any borders. He doesn’t understand any of this. I mean, maybe Infantino should be sent to a psychiatric ward one day.”
Blatter served as FIFA president from 1998 until 2015, when he resigned amid widespread corruption scandals and allegations of vote-buying that rocked world football’s governing body.