FIFA president Gianni Infantino called for people to “chill and relax” over Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup.
The comment came during a 66-minute press conference on the eve of the tournament, where Infantino defended FIFA over several controversies that have overshadowed the build-up to the World Cup.
Artan was set to become the first referee from Somalia at a World Cup but was refused entry to the United States. Somalia are one of the countries on the US travel ban but Artan believed he had a valid visa to enter the country.
The decision to ban Artan from the USA has been met with widespread criticism.
“It is unfortunate what happened to Omar. But we don’t control everything. We try, we discuss and we will speak”, Infantino said.
“Maybe sometimes it is good as well to just chill and relax. We work on everything and try to solve everything. Sometimes, to start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.
“Believe me when I tell you, don’t believe me if you want, we always try to find solutions. We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces; we are a sports organisation”.
Somali referee Omar Artan has been dropped from the World Cup after he was denied a US visa
When pushed for an answer on his comments by reporters on what he meant by “chill”, Infantino added: “In 2035, I think the Women’s World Cup will be in (the) UK.
“Would you find it normal that FIFA would dictate to the British Government who to let in the country and who not to let in the country? I don’t know, maybe you find it normal.
“Our world is a very aggressive world and security goes above everything. You need to respect the decisions.
“When I say ‘chill’, I don’t mean ‘chill and do nothing’, I mean to trust us.
“We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and find solutions. Sometimes we manage, sometimes we do not.”
Infantino defends controversial ticket prices
The second issue Infantino spoke about was the cost of match tickets for the finals. FIFA has received widespread criticism for the cost of attending fixtures, let alone travel expenses added on to that for fans to support their team, after adopting a dynamic pricing strategy.
FIFA has also set up an official resale platform, where it takes 15 per cent cuts from the seller and the buyer of each ticket, with prices soaring on these sites. One ticket was listed for £8.5m ($11.5m) on the official resale site in May.
Last month, Infantino said the prices being charged were justified in the North American market.
England fans greet Thomas Tuchel ahead of the World Cup beginning
“We have to look at the market – we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said at a conference in Beverly Hills.
Entry-level tickets start at £45 ($60) for federation-only tickets, of which only 402 were allocated for England’s opening fixture against Croatia, despite having an allocation of 4,022.
When asked about the extortionate pricing, which has been reported as the highest in World Cup history while also soaring on secondary markets, Infantino said: “The starting price at $60; the market is what it is. If you sell it at a lower price point, it would have gone on secondary markets at much higher prices.
“Where would the money go then? To those who organised secondary or black market activities and not to football.
“Every dollar that comes in goes back to the development of football. we have one competition every four years. The 47 other months out of the 48, we are investing this revenue in growth. Nobody else is doing that.”
Infantino ‘happy’ Iran can play and hopes for a good atmosphere
Infantino also spoke about Iran playing at the World Cup, with their participation in the tournament had previously been the subject of uncertainty since the US and Israel launched air strikes on the country on February 28.
Infantino has repeatedly insisted Iran would play as scheduled, with all three of their group games taking place in the US, with President Donald Trump also saying “let them play” back in March, despite the conflict.
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Kaveh Solhekol explains Gianni Infantino’s latest address to FIFA congress in which he confirmed Iran will play in the 2026 World Cup
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said in May that his country will participate in the World Cup but called on the US to provide “necessary facilities without political considerations or motives.”
On Tuesday, Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) said that its ticket allocation for the tournament had been pulled, just days before they face New Zealand in their first group game on June 16.
On Iran, Infantino added: “You cannot organise an event on such a magnitude in a perfect way. It is true that we are confronted with challenges we would rather not be confronted with. Sometimes we can solve them and others we cannot solve them.
“On Iran, I am very happy, because I went to see the Iranian team myself, and when people say it would be impossible for them to come, I promised them that they would come.
“There are challenges, and of course, it is not easy. When Iran plays, the stadium will be full and I hope there will be a positive atmosphere. Because this is football. I am very happy that we managed to get Iran to come and play in this World Cup.
“There are some issues we are still dealing with, of course.”
