FA chair Debbie Hewitt joined European delegates on an unprecedented walkout of Fifa Congress in Paraguay, in protest at Gianni Infantino’s hours-late arrival from a trip to the Middle East with Donald Trump.
The situation created the embarrassing scene of the Fifa president speaking alongside rows of empty seats at the Fifa Council.
The situation could precipitate a new civil war within Fifa, football’s global governing body, although senior sources insist this was more about sending “a strong message” for Infantino “to change his behaviour” and reassess “his personal political agenda”.
The Norwegian football federation accused Infantino of disrespect and demanded an explanation from Fifa.
The annual Congress had already been moved due to Infantino’s trip to the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where he spent time with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Trump, two world leaders he has developed close links with over the past eight years. Delegates later received an email saying Infantino had been further delayed to “unforeseen circumstances”, which caused the farcical sight of senior football officials tracking his movements on online flight radars. Such absurdity was nevertheless complemented by fury.
There had already been growing unrest within European football administration about the general direction of Fifa, and how so many key decisions seem to be taken without wider consultation. Among them are calls on the newly expanded Club World Cup and the highly controversial voting processes for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.
While Infantino eventually arrived in Asuncion and gave hurried apologies before his rushed keynote speech, numerous officials were left furious. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin led a delegation of European Council members in deciding to walk out after the break, leaving the sight of so many empty seats for the rest of Congress. The Council is Fifa’s highest body, and supposed to act as the body’s main check and balance.
The Norwegian federation added that its delegation “chose to leave the Congress venue together with several European colleagues at 2pm as initially planned” – by the previous time schedule – “for a respectful departure”.
Infantino later defended his trip, insisting it was crucial “to represent football” in “important discussions” with “world leaders in politics and economy”, not to mention those central to the hosting of the 2026 (USA, Mexico and Canada) and 2034 World Cups (Saudi Arabia). But some officials were sceptical that the extended time was merely down to his personal political agenda.
There was also a feeling that this went against the Fifa president’s very job description, since he is essentially supposed to serve the members who vote him in.
There was further difficulty for Infantino when a representative of the Palestine FA, Susan Shalabi, took the floor to admonish the governing body for continuously postponing a decision on their proposal that Israel should be banned for football over the claim the country has gone against Fifa statutes by staging football matches on illegally occupied land.
Some senior figures feel the issue is going to be continuously put off due to the political sensitivity, as well as the very idea that a football federation would take a decision of this nature before international bodies like the United Nations. It is also where Infantino’s relationship with Trump is seen as potentially influential, given the US president’s generally pro-Israel policy on Gaza.
The Norwegian FA’s secretary general, Karl-Petter Loken, stayed behind to express his federation’s support for the case of the Palestinian FA.
The English FA did not comment. Uefa has been contacted for comment.
