\n<\/p>\n
But Infantino stood by Qatar\u2019s side. In a speech<\/a> delivered on the eve of that World Cup, he accused the tournament\u2019s critics, particularly those from European and Western countries, of \u201cracism\u201d and \u201chypocrisy.\u201d And, in an attempt at solidarity, he declared: \u201cToday, I feel Qatari. Today, I feel Arab. Today, I feel African. Today, I feel gay. Today, I feel disabled. Today, I feel migrant worker.\u201d Later, when reminded of a group he\u2019d forgotten, he added: \u201cI feel like a woman too!\u201d<\/p>\n It was an unusual message, but a clear one: Infantino was with his suite mates.<\/p>\n Which is what made his companion at a World Cup match last month such a surprise. It was Norway against C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, and right there next to him in an executive box at the palatial home of the Dallas Cowboys was Lise Klaveness, the president of the Norwegian Football Federation. Like Putin and bin Salman at those previous tournaments, she was there to watch her national team in action. Unlike those two, she\u2019s a gay former professional midfielder with a lengthy record as an outspoken critic of FIFA.<\/p>\n \u201cWorld Cups were awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,\u201d she told the 72nd FIFA Congress in Doha less than eight months before the 2022 tournament was set to kick off in town. The line referenced FIFA\u2019s process for delivering the World Cup to both Qatar and Russia, part of what the US Department of Justice alleged was a sprawling culture of corruption in football governance under Infantino predecessor Sepp Blatter. (Ahead of one FIFA presidential election, some voters allegedly were given<\/a> manila envelopes full of $100 bills.) Klaveness also used the speech to call on FIFA to provide relief for migrant workers, saying that those who were injured or family members of those who died \u201cmust be cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n It was astonishingly direct stuff for the go-along-get-along world of international football. \u201cThe way FIFA has always worked,\u201d says Mark Pieth, a Swiss governance expert and former FIFA official, \u201cis if there is pushback or whatever, it is discussed outside [the] chambers.\u201d And it was coming from an openly lesbian mother of three, standing in a country where it\u2019s a crime to be gay. She\u2019d been in office for just 24 days.<\/p>\n At a World Cup quarterfinal match between England and her nation of Norway, Lise Klaveness (right) sat next to Gianni Infantino (center) in a box suite.<\/p>\n <\/span>MB Media\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n As president of FIFA, Infantino has taken his mandate to maintain good relations with \u201cpolitical bodies\u201d as an invitation to blast himself into the orbit of world leaders, regardless of whether they uphold FIFA\u2019s expressed values<\/a>. Putin awarded him a state honor in 2019, the year after Russia hosted what Infantino described as the \u201cbest World Cup ever,\u201d while FIFA sponsor Qatar Airways, owned by the Qatari government, has provided Infantino with access to a private jet to facilitate his relentless travels, including those in North America this summer. Infantino\u2019s defenders say that it\u2019s his job to ingratiate himself with decision-makers in host countries in order to get what he needs to stage a successful tournament, and he\u2019s certainly done his best with a key player in the 2026 edition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Soccer King<\/strong><\/h2>\n