Source Link: https://www.marca.com/en/football/womens-world-cup/2023/07/28/64c40da7268e3eba018b4585.html
Don’t expect to see Gianni Infantino at some of the upcoming Women’s World Cup matches following reports he’s already left the tournament.
The news comes after the FIFA president called for the Women’s World Cup to be shown the same respect as the men’s tournament when criticizing broadcasters for not offering enough for television rights.
Sky News reports that tracking a private jet known to be used by Infantino shows that it left Tahiti on July 17, spent around eight days in New Zealand, and then then returned to Tahiti on July 25.
FIFA have yet to say whether Infantino will return to the tournament, which ends on August 20, but his behaviour stands in stark contrast to the most recent men’s World Cup in Qatar, where he attended some of all 64 matches.
While the distance between Australia and New Zealand made it impossible for him to attend all matches this year, he hasn’t visited the former once since they were awarded hosting rights in 2020.
Infantino’s past comments
“It’s time to respect women,” Infantino has regularly posted on Instagram in recent months, while in May he said: “We just want that the [women’s] game is respected and that the right money is paid for that.”
His Instagram has even continued to post official pictures from matches even though he he has already left New Zealand.
Infantino only attended matches during the first five days of the tournament in New Zealand, and was most recently seen at Eden Park in Auckland for Italy-Argentina so that he could meet the family who bought the 1.5 millionth ticket.
