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Monday, 17 August 2026dailybeirut.com
Football
Andrew Giuliani, former Trump aide and ex-White House FIFA 2026 task force director, defended FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling critics “in need of a mental evaluation” amid backlash over the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.
Andrew Giuliani, former senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump and former executive director of the White House’s FIFA 2026 task force, has mounted a vigorous defense of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Speaking to the U.S. Independent, Giuliani stated that anyone contemplating removing Infantino from office “needs a mental evaluation.”
Giuliani worked closely with Infantino before and during this summer’s tournament. He moved swiftly to support the FIFA chief amid ongoing controversy following the cancellation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative.
“It’s politics,” Giuliani told the Independent. “I’ve seen this before when people targeted President Trump for political reasons. People feel envy when others achieve extraordinary things. What Gianni Infantino has done for FIFA is elevate it to an entirely new level — one they never thought possible.” He attributed criticism of Infantino to envy and political calculation.
Giuliani emphasized the significance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing it as the first World Cup secured under Infantino’s leadership and realized according to his own vision. “Remember: this is the first World Cup that Gianni Infantino successfully won the hosting rights for during his presidency. He inherited the Russia and Qatar tournaments and managed them well — but this one is his own.”
He issued a stark warning to national and continental federation presidents: “What I’d say is that any federation president who considers voting against Gianni Infantino will make one of the most foolish decisions of their professional life.”
Giuliani praised the organizational and financial success of the most recent World Cup, stating: “This man just organized the largest global sporting event in history — without a single incident — and generated revenues more than four times greater than those of the previous World Cup.”
He added: “You’re thinking of ousting him? If Gianni is not re-elected by acclamation, then every person who votes against him needs a mental evaluation.”
Giuliani mocked the FFE controversy by suggesting FIFA may require its own “FIFA Rescue Act,” modeled on the “American Rescue Act” previously proposed by Trump.
Like Trump, Giuliani said he had no prior knowledge of the FFE proposal before its public disclosure by media outlets. He urged Infantino’s critics to pause and assess the full scope of his tenure.
Giuliani confirmed he had spoken with Infantino since the controversy erupted and believes Infantino has a strong plan for the coming months — extending through March of next year — aimed at securing re-election to a new term.
On the controversial FIFA proposal, Giuliani remarked: “We’re all human. Gianni recently made a statement about this matter himself. But I see this as one of those issues people have noticed — where sport has become subject to profit and commercial marketing.”
He concluded: “You must look at Gianni’s entire record and recognize that he constantly seeks to improve his organization. The fact that someone continually strives for improvement does not mean they’ll never make a mistake here or there — that’s part of being human. But when I look at his full body of work, I say: this is the person I want in leadership.”
