“As everyone knows, the best way to let everyone know that you’re absolutely fine and that the haters and the losers definitely haven’t got under your skin is to post an 887-word statement, stretched over 15 slides on Instagram, saying you’re absolutely fine and the haters and the losers definitely haven’t got under your skin. So from that you can conclude that Gianni Infantino is perfectly content. Tip-top actually. Never been better. Why do you ask? Four years ago, Infantino delivered his landmark “Today, I feel…” speech before the World Cup in Qatar. This time, his pre-tournament press conference produced his deeply irksome “chill… relax” plea, but it lacked the punch of its predecessor. Now we know why: he was saving the biggest salvo for after the World Cup. … Four competing countries — Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast — had to contend with travel bans. The BBC reported in June that the visa rejection rate for 11 of the 48 countries that would play at the tournament was north of 40 per cent in the year up to the end of September 2025. For Jordanian citizens, that rate was at 57 per cent. Fans from Algeria, Cape Verde, Tunisia as well as Senegal and Ivory Coast initially had to provide bonds of up to $15,000 to qualify for a visa: that requirement was dropped in May, by which time it was too late for many. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
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