![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/gianni-infantinos-stick-to-football-plea-falls-flat-with-naively-optimistic-russia-ukraine-intervention/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000316272360_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg&description=He smiled for a picture with the leader of the free world and then topped off his big moment by suggesting his sport could help broker peace for Ukraine. Yet grandiose gestures from Gianni Infantino at the G20 summit were entirely undermined by a letter he had penned earlier this month. "Stick to football" had been the effective instruction issued in Infantino's note to 32 nations flying to the most controversial tournament in history. Just a fortnight on, here was the same administrator failing to take his own medicine, and therefore ensuring all pleas against protests in Qatar are moot. Standing alongside Joe Biden, and then climbing upon his soapbox, Infantino launched the most political, and naively optimistic, intervention imaginable. "Let's take this opportunity to do everything we can to start putting an end to all conflicts," he said in his Bali address. "You are the world leaders, you have the ability to influence the course of history. Football and the World Cup are offering you and the world a unique platform of unity, and peace all over the world." The suggestion that Vladimir Putin might down arms temporarily so he can watch a World Cup from which he is banned is obviously absurd. Yet over the coming weeks, it will become even harder for the guardians of the World Cup to take the moral high ground. There is no escaping discussion around human rights in Qatar now Infantino has declared his intention to secure world peace. His comments at the G20 were just a continuation of a theme in which Fifa tells football to follow its words rather than its actions. Quite aside from turning a blind eye to Qatar's checkered rap sheet, environmental forecasters point out the governing body's green pledges are falling flat. Cutting carbon attempts are quickly offset while multi-nation hosting bids are being entertained. The 2026 iteration will be a gas-guzzling air mile extravaganza for fans, across the US, Canada and Mexico. Infantino launches forays into internatio){kind=link}
The FIFA President said the month-long World Cup, which starts in Qatar on November 20, offered a unique platform for peace
He smiled for a picture with the leader of the free world and then topped off his big moment by suggesting his sport could help broker peace for Ukraine.
Yet grandiose gestures from Gianni Infantino at the G20 summit were entirely undermined by a letter he had penned earlier this month.
“Stick to football” had been the effective instruction issued in Infantino’s note to 32 nations flying to the most controversial tournament in history.
Just a fortnight on, here was the same administrator failing to take his own medicine, and therefore ensuring all pleas against protests in Qatar are moot.