So much of the 2026 World Cup story so far has unfortunately been about Gianni Infantino. The FIFA president has spent the entire build-up playing sycophant to United States President Donald Trump, even though Canada and Mexico are also co-hosts for the tournament.
Despite that, he’s been unable or unwilling to get Trump to soften his intensive border control restrictions and open up the door for all those – players, fans, staff, and officials – connected to World Cup nations to enter the US. One of many examples saw Somali referee Omar Artan turned away upon arriving in Miami, despite having a visa to come into the country.
In response to the criticism, the ever-unpopular Infantino did not help his cause when he told the journalist to ‘chill, relax.’ The Swiss-born 56-year-old has been FIFA president since 2016 and has long had his detractors, with one of those being football legend Diego Maradona.
Diego Maradona Quit FIFA Legends Role After Dispute With Gianni Infantino
Maradona is best remembered for his iconic performances at the 1986 World Cup, as he led Argentina to glory in Mexico. His two league titles in Italy with Napoli, as well as trophy-winning spells with Barcelona and Boca Juniors, helped cement his place as one of the greatest players in football history.
Having such a high status within the sport, Maradona was part of the FIFA Legends team. However, in 2019, the Argentine great quit his role on the programme, blaming mistreatment from Infantino.
Indeed, the former Napoli man – who passed away in 2020 at the age of 60 – spoke with great anger about the FIFA president. He claimed he was treated like a ‘dog’ and consequently resigned on the spot:
“They put us [in a hotel room] with (former Dutch player, Marco) van Basten and another player. And they treated us as if we were little dogs that only needed to be fed and that’s it. A total lack of respect.
“That’s why I resigned. And now, I will start revealing what I know about this new FIFA.”
Maradona then took aim at FIFA’s deputy general secretary Zvonimir Boban (who resigned later that year for unrelated reasons), challenging him to a fight. The Argentine was unhappy after an alleged misunderstanding between himself and Boban at the hotel where members of the FIFA Legends programme were staying.
Maradona slammed Infantino for sending Boban to deal with the issue, saying: “I would like to say to Boban that if he wants to look good, let’s go to a (boxing) ring. He shouldn’t have come to the hotel and got angry.
“The worst part is that Boban was sent by someone. And this someone is Infantino. I am not a 20-year-old kid, I am 58. It hurts me because I believed in these people. Now I don’t believe them anymore.”
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Maradona Felt Infantino Was Just as Bad For FIFA as Sepp Blatter
At the time, 2019, Infantino had been in charge of FIFA for three years. The administrator had taken over from former president Sepp Blatter in 2016, who departed amid controversy. Indeed, Blatter had been banned from football for six years in 2015 by the world governing body’s own ethics committee for approving a £1.3m payment to UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011.
The ruling also meant that Platini withdrew from the race to become FIFA president, allowing Infantino to take the crown. Fast-forward to 2026, and a recent criminal complaint has now been made against the currrent FIFA boss, in which it’s claimed that Infantino and others “worked to exclude [Platini] from the race for the presidency of FIFA”.
Amid these allegations of shady behaviour, it’s eye-opening to see Maradona’s remarks about
Infantino at the time. Perhaps most notably, in 2019, he claimed that FIFA had not ‘changed a bit’ since the departure of Blatter and the arrival of Infantino:
“I sent a letter to Infantino in which I resigned from (the post of) being captain of (FIFA) legends. Since Blatter and [former Argentina Football Association president, Julio] Grondona left, FIFA hasn’t changed a bit. No change.”
A decade into Infantino’s presidency, some would argue not only have things not got better since the days of Blatter, but they’ve got even worse. World Cup games, for example, have become essentially unaffordable for the average fan. Indeed, a category one ticket for the final cost about $1000 in Qatar 2022, but will now set supporters back over $6000 in 2026.
