I’ve attended several absurd press conferences in my career. But of the caliber of that of FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday? Never.
His initial statement lasted an hour. An hour of sophistry, bizarre quotes and clumsy comparisons. It was worthy of an episode of The Office. If only it had been funny. Not even. It was just uncomfortable.
His long monologue began with a startling enumeration. “Today, I feel Qatari. Today, I feel Arab. Today, I feel African. Today, I feel gay. Today, I feel like a person with a disability. Today I feel like a migrant worker. »
And even “like a woman”, he added a little later. Of course, these are metaphors. Mr. Infantino is none of these, although he has resided in Qatar since the beginning of the year. The 400 people in the auditorium were all wondering where this tirade was going. What followed was even more surprising.
“I know what it’s like to be discriminated against. I was a foreigner, in another country. At school, I was bullied because I had red hair and freckles. Besides, I was Italian, and I spoke German badly. You cry in your room, and then you try to make new friends. »
Pause.
Is the situation of an Italian entrepreneur’s son in Switzerland really comparable to that of a Bangladeshi who lays bricks at 47 degrees Celsius for $15 a day? Do red-haired European children live with the threat of being imprisoned, like members of the LGBTQ+ community in Qatar? Who among his close advisers thought that these comparisons were judicious?
Gianni Infantino then launched into a passionate attack on the West in general, and Europe in particular. Why ? To respond to all the criticism leveled at Qatar, for its management of human rights.
“We are taught many lessons by Europeans and people from the West. I am European. I think after what we Europeans have done over the past 3000 years, we should apologize for the next 3000 years before lecturing others. »
Three thousand years of apologies is a long, long time.
Anglophones have a nice expression for this type of argument: the whataboutism. It is the art of diverting the conversation by exposing a different problem. No one denies that there have been atrocities in Europe over the past 3000 years. This was also the case in America, Africa and Asia, for that matter. Afterwards, should the errors of our ancestors prevent us from criticizing the failings of a State for the next three millennia? To wish for better working conditions for workers? To deplore the intimidation suffered by whole sections of a society? Doesn’t being silent encourage repression?
In another diatribe, Gianni Infantino specifically attacked journalists, who have multiplied articles and investigations in recent months on social issues in Qatar.
“Do you want to criticize someone? Come to me. Criticize me. I am here. Crucify me. Do not criticize Qatar. Unease in the room. “Don’t criticize the players. Don’t criticize anyone. Criticize FIFA, criticize me if you want. I am responsible for everything. »
Ironically, when asked by a reporter if he considered awarding the World Cup to Qatar “a mistake”, as former FIFA President Sepp Blatter pointed out last week, Gianni Infantino has abdicated himself, rightly claiming that he only became president in 2016, six years after the decision.
Mr. Infantino had another turd on his heart towards journalists. He criticized them for having little coverage of a press conference on sport for people with disabilities. “There are a billion people [dans cette situation]. Nobody cares. That’s 15% of the world’s population. There were only four journalists. Do you think these people are not suffering? That you shouldn’t worry about them? »
Who implied that?
Absolutely nobody.
An absurd press conference, I said.
Like this World Cup.