SerpApi.Org
The World Cup is finally over, and the results are out. We already know our winner. Congratulations, La Roja! Now, ESPN has decided to issue its own report card reviewing the whole 2026 tournament. Not everyone has fared well. In fact, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has landed himself an “F” in ESPN‘s 2026 World Cup report card.
ESPN‘s Mark Ogden has released his final evaluations for all of the key figures in this year’s World Cup. These include a serious rebuke of Infantino. In his piece, the FIFA CEO was one of only two figures to earn an F grade. The other was Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Ogden criticized Infantino for implementing a halftime performance, hydration breaks, and his “attention-seeking attempts” across the tournament.
Ogden wrote, “Enough of the attention-seeking attempts to claim the tournament as your own little playground for celebrities, politicians and fading players. And thanks for the World Cup final halftime show and all those hydration breaks. No … really.”
Just a month ago, ESPN FC‘s Craig Burley said that Infantino “has no interest in player welfare,” echoing widespread criticism. Meanwhile, German football legend Philipp Lahm publicly accused the FIFA boss of having “sold out” the World Cup. He cited revenue maximization and opaque ticket pricing as the reasons. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter also described FIFA under Infantino as a “dictatorship,” claiming Infantino has started to isolate himself.
UEFA Hunts A Challenger: The Push To Unseat Infantino In 2027
Blatter’s previous regime was brought down by corruption and bribery. After that, Infantino became soccer’s new man of the people: personable, engaging, and eager to rebuild the game’s reputation. But that all changed in December 2025. He abruptly established a “FIFA Peace Prize” for President Donald Trump, sparking immediate outrage. At the FIFA Congress in Paraguay in May 2025, UEFA organized a walkout. They accused Infantino of interfering with the schedule due to “private political interests.”
Infantino then raised World Cup payouts from $10 million to $12.5 million per nation. He did this only two days before a FIFA Congress to quell a revolt. Anonymous FIFA Congress delegates labeled the former Swiss-Italian lawyer as “more of an operator than a manager.” They said he was intent on keeping salary and power. On the eve of the 2026 World Cup, he angered critics by asking them to “chill and relax.” This came despite FIFA facing UN scrutiny over immigration issues.
This year, European federations were shocked by a FIFA ruling. FIFA overturned a red-card ban to let U.S. forward Folarin Balogun play in the World Cup. Infantino’s friend, President Trump, publicly took credit for the decision. He said, “I was the onewho got them to do it.” This raised concerns about political influence in FIFA.
UEFA condemned the decision, saying, “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.” The governing body of soccer in Europe further added, “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case, not.”
On top of that, 72 MEPs formally wrote to the heads of 27 EU soccer associations. They requested a formal probe into Infantino’s actions. Critics even described his leadership as a “grotesque case study in the perils of unchecked executive authority.”
The FIFA president election is set for March 2027. UEFA member associations from Poland, Belgium, Spain, and Germany are looking for a challenger. The most frequently mentioned candidate is PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. He allegedly declined, claiming he had “no ambition, no intention, no interest.”
President Bernd Neuendorf of Germany’s DFB publicly declined to sign a letter endorsing Infantino’s reelection. He said that the Balogun incident “must not be filed away.”
A human rights organization also complained to the IOC over Infantino’s alleged transgressions of political neutrality regulations. Despite open European dissent, the 56-year-old has strong backing from CONCACAF, Asian, and African federations, which support his commercial expansion agenda.
