Infantino’s surprise appearance at the peace summit raised eyebrows

October 14 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the Middle East peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The football official was an unlikely figure among world leaders, heads of state and politicians gathered in the Egyptian city to “end the war in the Gaza Strip, step up efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability” according to the Egyptian presidency, which is also co-hosting with US president Donald Trump.

Infantino said he was invited to the summit by Trump. The football boss is one of the few Europeans who enjoys unprecedented access to the US President. Last week, Infantino endorsed Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

After the Peace Summit, Infantino said on Instagram that FIFA would “help revive football – together with the Palestinian Football Association – in every corner of the country” and would “launch a fund to help rebuild football infrastructure.”

The summit caps a busy period for Infantino, who recently attended the CAF general assembly in Kinshasa, the old ECA general assembly, and received the President of Kosovo’s Medal in Pristina. He also met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa.

But his appearance in Sharm El Sheikh was met with surprise and criticism in some circles. Nick McGeehan, co-director of the NGO Fairsquare, said: “Gianni Infantino’s presence and comments in Sharm el-Sheikh are significant and deeply disturbing. Infantino has abandoned all pretense of political neutrality that FIFA adheres to and is legally committed to upholding, and has put FIFA firmly in the corner of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It now appears clear that Infantino intends to use this deeply flawed peace process to avoid responsibility for FIFA, namely and Israel. It is vital that the Palestinian Football Association reject any plea from FIFA for FIFA to drop its complaint against the Israeli Football Association, and continue its campaign for justice and accountability.”

For more than a decade, the Palestinian Football Association has demanded that FIFA take action against Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank. Recently, there was growing clamor among European soccer officials to ban Israel from taking part in the international game, but UEFA never scheduled a meeting to vote on Trump’s proposed 20-point Middle East peace plan.

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