FIFA not ‘Kings of the world’: Gianni Infantino says US has final say on World Cup visas
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said soccer’s governing body cannot dictate who the United States allows into the country for the World Cup, defending FIFA’s handling of visa issues and urging critics to “calm down and relax” as the tournament prepares to begin.
During a 66-minute press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday, on the eve of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Infantino addressed a number of controversies that have arisen in the build-up to the tournament, including denial of entry to Somali referee Omar Artan and concerns regarding Iran’s participation in matches hosted in the United States.
Artan was set to make history as the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after being included in FIFA’s final list of referees. However, he was denied entry after arriving at Miami International Airport from Istanbul.
A U.S. official said Tuesday that Artan was rejected because of alleged “associations with suspected members of terrorist organizations.”
Infantino described the situation as unfortunate, but stressed that FIFA’s influence has limits when it comes to decisions taken by governments.
“Believe me when I say this or don’t believe me if you don’t want to, but we always try to find a solution,” Infantino said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Somali referee Omar Artan not making it to the FIFA World Cup:
“We don’t control everything” pic.twitter.com/xxxYiXU2JP— Eric Njiru (@EricNjiiru) June 10, 2026
“But then we have to respect that we are not kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces and I don’t know why. We are a sporting organisation, we try to do the best we can with the resources we have.”
The FIFA president said the organization continues to work behind the scenes whenever problems arise, but warned against reacting too quickly in public.
“It’s unfortunate what happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia, but again we don’t have everything under control,” Infantino said.
“We’ll try, we’ll discuss, we’ll see. Maybe sometimes it’s good to rest, rest. We’re working on everything, we’re trying to solve everything.”
He argued that public pressure and immediate criticism will not always help resolve sensitive matters involving immigration authorities and national governments.
“Sometimes immediately starting to yell and scream has the opposite effect in terms of finding a solution,” he said.
“We always try to find solutions, always. But then we have to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces.”
Pressed on what he meant by asking people to “calm down”, Infantino clarified that FIFA is actively working to resolve the issues rather than ignoring them.
“I don’t want to sit back and do nothing, I want to trust us to work behind the scenes and try to understand,” he said.
“There are things they tell us, things they don’t tell us. We always try to do things positively and find solutions.”
Infantino pointed to Iran’s participation in the tournament as an example of FIFA’s efforts to manage complex political and logistical challenges. The Iranian team is based in Tijuana, Mexico and will travel to the United States for matches before returning overseas.
“It was successful to bring Iran to play in America, I don’t know who would have succeeded,” Infantino said.
“We don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth and we’re doing our best.”
Despite the visa issues that arose in the final days before kick-off, Infantino said FIFA had no regrets in awarding the hosting rights to the United States, which co-hosts the tournament with Canada and Mexico.
The FIFA chief also addressed ongoing investigations by the attorneys general in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas into the structure of ticket prices for the tournament.
FIFA DEFENDS TICKET PRICES
FIFA has faced criticism over ticket prices, with some seats for the July 19 final in New Jersey costing as much as $8,680. After the backlash, the governing body released a limited number of $60 tickets to supporters through national federations.
Infantino insisted FIFA remained satisfied with its approach and welcomed the investigation.
“Let me say that we are very relaxed about this because before we started selling seven million tickets, we checked what we were going to do with the best lawyers or experts,” he said.
According to Infantino, FIFA sold around 800,000 tickets for matches in Los Angeles and San Francisco and received only four complaints from customers.
“We sold 800,000 tickets in California for games in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Out of 800,000, we had three customers who complained. A fourth has since come,” he said.
“These cases were resolved before the investigation began. We welcome any investigation. We will present everything and present our case. But the most important thing is that every dollar we generate goes back into football.”
The FIFA president added that the average price of a ticket for the tournament was less than US$500 and was comparable to the prices that were recorded during the play-off matches in the major American sports leagues.
Co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, with hosts Mexico facing South Africa in the opening match of the biggest tournament in soccer history.
As FIFA prepares to launch the expanded 48-team competition, Infantino claimed the organization would continue to work to resolve problems behind the scenes, while accepting that national governments have the final authority on matters such as visas.
“We’re always trying to find a solution,” he said. “But we have to respect that we are not the kings of the world.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
11 Jun 2026 07:36 IST