Joseph Blatter, who was already president of FIFA, did not spare in the criticism of Gianni Infantino, the current leader of the body that manages world football, accusing the leader of being “a dictator”.
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11/11/2026
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Uan unprecedented attack on Gianni Infantino. This is how you can adject the bombastic interview that Joseph Blatter, former FIFA president, granted, early in the afternoon of Wednesday, to the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Former leader of the World Football Management Agency, Blatter, who passed the FIFA presidency between 1998 and 2015, left nothing to say about his successor, pointing to various aspects of the presidency of Infantino, which has been leading the body since 2016.
“ FIFA is experiencing difficulties. It is currently led by a person who has been deceived. The meeting with Donald Trump changed Gianni Infantino. He believes he was chosen to monopolize the world's most popular sport. However, there are prominent figures in the football organization that do not agree with this. They want to depose him”, started by saying Sepp Blatter.
“Children lead a FIFA that has a lot of money. I'm not entirely blameless because I'm the one who traded television and advertising rights worldwide. My predecessor, João Havelange, said to me: ‘Sepp, you created a monster’,” he said.
Blatter goes even further and accuses Infant to be buying votes for reelection. The vote is scheduled for the FIFA Congress on March 18, 2027, in Rabat.
“ When he learned that the Asian Football Confederation was going to oppose him, he flew to Asia and campaigned. You promised money to the national federations. And so it continued until the president of the Asian federation spoke for him. He's campaigning at FIFA's expense. Infantine is doing exactly what a president should not do,” he continued.
“Infantino personally chose the members [of the Ethics Committee and the FIFA Compliance Committee]. They're all his accomplices. The European Football Federation (UEFA) does put a lot of pressure on it, but if we can't get the Infantine away from the next presidential election in March, it will be re-elected. We need to see now how we get rid of him. UEFA has a plan: next week, they will appoint an opponent. It's not about who's running. The important thing is that the current president is not re-elected. My favorite would then be the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations ", criticized Blatter.
“The FIFA president has too much power. Maybe he should just be a decorative figure. The rest should be managed by the FIFA Council and a CEO. FIFA should be managed as a company. Infantine knows no boundaries anymore. He doesn't understand any of this. I mean, maybe Infantine should be admitted to a mental hospital. People in FIFA tell me no one is allowed to ride an elevator with him. It is untouchable, it is a dictator ", finished.