And just a few hours later, the world’s biggest football tournament begins. But in the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, many controversies and complications have already arisen around the tournament. There has been widespread criticism of high ticket prices, visa complications, restrictions on entry into the United States and security issues. FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened his mouth on these issues. He advised football fans to ‘chill’.
The opening match of the World Cup will be held in Mexico on Thursday at 1 pm. Infantino responded to criticism of ticket prices in a press conference before the start of the tournament.
He said if FIFA is making a mistake in ticket sales, others in the North American ticket market are making the same mistake. According to him, if tickets were sold at low prices, they would be sold at higher prices on the black market and the profits would go to the pockets of unscrupulous traders instead of football.
In this World Cup, the minimum price of tickets for group stage matches has been set at $140. On the other hand, general seat ticket prices for the finals have exceeded several thousand dollars. FIFA has come under fire from the start for the high cost of the hospitality package. The company later released a limited number of $60 tickets for regular fans. Infantino claims that about 130,000 tickets have been allocated in this category.
Investigations are underway in California, New York, New Jersey and Texas over ticketing practices. However, FIFA president is not worried about these things. According to him, all aspects have been verified by lawyers and experts before the start of the ticket sale process and FIFA is ready to cooperate with any investigation.
Apart from the ticket controversy, discussions have also taken place on visa and security issues ahead of the World Cup. Somali referee Omar Artan, who was on duty in the United States, has been sent back to his home country due to security concerns. There have also been allegations of cancellation of tickets for Iranian fans and extra security checks on players and officials from Senegal and Uzbekistan.
Infantino admits that FIFA’s powers are limited. He said, everything is not under the control of FIFA. Decisions of the government and law enforcement agencies also have to be respected. We will discuss, talk. Sometimes it’s better to chill and wait. Sometimes the best course of action is to calmly observe the situation and try to resolve it.
“Today’s world is much more sensitive and complex,” Infantino said, noting that security is a top priority. Therefore, FIFA is working behind the scenes to solve the problem by respecting the security decisions of various countries.
He also referred to the fact that the participation of the Iranian national team in the World Cup is a big success of FIFA. According to him, it was not an easy task to bring the team to the tournament despite various international complications.
The FIFA president praised the role of US President Donald Trump in the press conference. He said, such a big global event would not have been possible without the cooperation of the US administration. At the same time, he said about the World Cup broadcast, FIFA could have earned more money if it only looked at the commercial profit. But the organization has followed a balanced policy to deliver the World Cup to billions of viewers.
Times BD/RA
