{"id":14987,"date":"2026-02-03T05:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T05:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/world-football-chief-issues-apology-to-british-fans-after-cheap-joke\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T05:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T05:55:09","slug":"world-football-chief-issues-apology-to-british-fans-after-cheap-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/world-football-chief-issues-apology-to-british-fans-after-cheap-joke\/","title":{"rendered":"World football chief issues apology to British fans after ‘cheap joke’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The president of world football’s governing body FIFA has apologised to British football fans after a comment which was criticised as a “cheap joke” by the Football Supporters’ Association.<\/p>\n

Gianni Infantino<\/strong> suffered a backlash last month after joking that<\/strong>: “For the first time in history… no Brit was arrested during a World Cup. Imagine! This is something really really special”.<\/p>\n

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Infantino told The World with Yalda Hakim<\/strong> that the comments were “meant to be more of a light-hearted remark” aimed at highlighting that the 2022 Qatar World Cup “was a celebration” and “a peaceful event”.<\/p>\n

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\n Gianni Infantino jokes about British fans
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The FIFA<\/strong> boss firstly apologised to fans from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, saying that offending them was “not my intention”.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that: “I’m a huge fan of English football”, adding that he had been wrong to refer to English people who “just go and riot around the world” at football matches as fans, instead referring to them as “criminals”.<\/p>\n

Mr Infantino then highlighted and praised efforts made by England to tackle football violence.<\/p>\n

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\n FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents the US president with the body’s peace prize. Pic: Reuters
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