UEFA Slams Slams Infantinos late arrival of Trump Middle East Tour

Asuncion, Paraguay -FIFA President Gianni Infantino decided to start his week in the Middle East at the beginning of the US President Donald Trump's state visits with her narrow ally, the Saudi -Arabic Crown Prince, which then of the Emir of Qatar.

The knock-on effect was felt on Thursday when Infantinos late arrival on private jet flights from Qatar von Katar forced the FIFA annual conference in Paraguay to start more than three hours late.

It led to a mid-meeting strike in the “deeply regrettable” delay of high-ranking officials from the European football base UEFA.

Uefa said in an explanation: “What seems to be easy to take into account private political interests does not serve the game and seemed to put his interests in second place.”

Infantino, with its 211 members and voters and voters of the National Federation on the other side of the globe, had selected on the other side of the world on the other side of the world. They had arrived in Paraguay three days earlier.

The Qatar State prepared Jet, who flew the FIFA boss from Doha via Nigeria that he was still in height above the Atlantic when his meeting was supposed to begin.

There were also some high -ranking European officials in the FIFA government council, including the UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin to leave her main stage seats early.

“We are combining the world in Asunción today,” said Infantino in closing comments on the stage, on which about a quarter of the seats was empty in the last 90 minutes.

For the second time in a row there was no press conference on the congress to ask Infantino.

Infantino had apologized to his audience several times

He quoted problems with his flight and insisted that he was important that he had been in the Middle East in “important discussions … with some global leaders in politics and business”.

“I had the feeling that I had to be there to represent all of you and to represent football,” said Infantino. “As President of FIFA, it is my responsibility to make decisions in the interests of the organization.”

After the meeting ran so late, some European delegates returned to the hall after a coffee break.

Empty seats reserved for the 37-member FIFA Council of Infantino included those from Čefer and the other two FIFA Vice President from Europe: Hungarian banker Sándor Csányi and Debbie Hewitt, head of the English football association. Officials from Germany, Norway and Romania also went.

Alejandro Dominguez, the FIFA Vice President and Head of the South American football base Conmebol, was still the most high -ranking Paraguaya officer in world football on the stage with Infantino.

The President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, was also affected. He held an opening speech that the FIFA usually invited to the head of state, to make hours later than planned, although he still praised Infantino as a “personal friend and friend of Paraguay”.

Peña previously said in January that he suggested Infantino that FIFA should bring a big event to Paraguay, which in 2030 will organize one of the 104 games at the men's World Championship, which is largely brought together by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Infantino decided to join President Trump on the first legs of the tour instead of meeting his voting members. Qatar was hosting the world championship in 2022, the USA will be organized with Canada and Mexico next year and Saudi Arabia will be organized in 2034.

On Wednesday in Doha, Katar's ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – a member of the International Olympic Committee at Infantino – organized visiting delegations at a state dinner in Lusail Palace.

Infantino built up close relationships with both Trump administrations and was in January in the Capitol Rotunda for the formal inauguration of the presidency.

Trump is to present the trophy at the final in the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from the Club World Championship in July and the World Cup next year. The Club World Cup Trophy was in the congress room on Thursday. The gold trophy has spent a large part in the Oval Office in the White House in the past few weeks.