‘Just calm down, rest’: FIFA chief Gianni Infantino finally reacts after Somalia referee denies US entry ahead of World Cup – Watch

Omar Artan and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the case of Somali referee Omar Artan at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of the opening match of the expanded 48-team World Cup. Artan was set to become the first Somali official to work at the World Cup. However, he was denied entry to the United States due to unspecified security concerns. Infantino said FIFA tried to help but could not reverse the government’s decision.“We’re not in control of everything. We’re trying. We’ll discuss, we’ll talk, we’ll see. Maybe sometimes it’s good to just relax,” he said.He added: “We try to solve everything. Sometimes screaming and shouting immediately has the opposite effect of finding a solution. Believe me when I tell you or don’t believe me if you don’t, but we always try to find a solution, always. But then we have to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces.”Watch:Infantino also defended the high ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup and responded to criticism over several issues surrounding the tournament.Infantino said FIFA carefully reviewed its ticket sales plans before putting millions of tickets on sale. Ticket prices have become a major point of discussion, especially for the finale, where some seats sell for thousands of dollars.Infantino argued that lower prices would only benefit ticket sellers and black market operators.“If you sell it at a lower price,” he said, “it would go on this particular market – which is perfectly legal in this country … on secondary markets for much, much, much higher prices and then where would that money go? Well, to those who organize secondary markets or black market activities, and not to football.”He also dismissed concerns about investigations launched by attorneys general in several US states.“As far as these legal investigations or complaints that have been filed in some states in the U.S.,” he said, “we’re very relaxed about that because before we start selling 6 and a half or 7 million tickets, we’re going to review what we’re doing with the best lawyers, with the best experts. If we do something wrong, then probably everyone who sells tickets in North America is doing something wrong.”

Iran, Trump and FIFA’s ambitions

Infantino also praised FIFA’s efforts to ensure Iran could participate in the World Cup despite tensions between the United States and Iran.“I think it’s already been successful in bringing Iran to play in America,” he said.The FIFA boss said the tournament could become “probably the biggest event in human history”. He also praised US President Donald Trump for helping host the FIFA World Cup in the country.“Without his involvement and his involvement, I think it would have been impossible – so simple that it would have been impossible to organize the World Cup in the United States,” Infantino said.FIFA expects the tournament to generate around $11 billion in revenue. Infantino said the organization could have made much more money by putting the matches behind paywalls, but chose not to.“We could put everything on the payroll. We’d probably generate $30 billion,” he said. “But then you have billions of people in the world who wouldn’t be able to watch the World Cup.”