FIFA President Gianni Infantino (52) is once once more making (negative) headlines!
On Monday, the Brazilian fans were allowed to say goodbye to their idol and national hero Pelé († 82) at the public wake in the FC Santos stadium.
Pelé’s last trip Here the football king is laid out
That’s what the Fifa President wanted too: and caused a stir during his visit with a tasteless selfie on the coffin of the dead Brazilian!
Smiling, Infantino posed just a few meters from Pelé’s coffin with some ex-Santos players and companions of the three-time world champion and happily snapped away. The photos include Manoel Maria (74) and Lima (80), both of whom played with Pelé at FC Santos.
Incidentally, the Fifa President has not yet published the selfies: in a condolence post on Instagram, the Swiss only said goodbye with official media photos of Pelé’s wake.
Infantino: “Pelé leaves an incredible, unique legacy to football. He had a gift from God – a gift few people have, which is to be able to touch the hearts and emotions of so many people through football. He will be remembered by billions of people around the world – including many who, like me, have never seen him play.”
Then the boss of the World Football Association, who had taken over the Fifa scepter from Sepp Blatter (86) since 2016, suggested a crazy idea to honor the Brazilian.
“Now we have to make sure that we – the world of football – remember Pele forever. For this reason, I propose that all 211 of our member associations pay tribute to his memory by naming one of their stadiums in his honour. Young people around the world need to know and remember who Pelé was and what good fortune he brought,” Infantino continued.
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Only at the highly controversial desert World Cup in Qatar did the Fifa boss arouse a lot of displeasure.
Already at the opening press conference before the World Cup, Infantino stammered Gaga statements (“Today I feel gay, today I feel African, today I feel Arab”).
And the FIFA boss also attracted negative attention at the award ceremony following the World Cup final: At first, the Swiss did not prevent Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi – which is not permitted under FIFA’s statutes – from Qatar’s Emir al-Thani to give him a black and gold robe.
Then the Fifa boss hesitated to present the captain of the “Albiceleste” with the World Cup.
