FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on the eve of the World Cup on Wednesday that world football’s governing body “does not control everything” when it came to issuing visas and who to let into the United States.
Asked if he felt FIFA had “lost control of the tournament” after Somali referee Omar Artan was turned away at the US border and members of Iran team’s support staff were refused visas, Infantino said at a press conference: “We try always to find solutions, but then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces, we are a sports organization.”
