A few more days are left for the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be over. But President Gianni Infantino’s challenges continue to be on an upward trend. First, Belgium reportedly took a legal route regarding Folarin Balogun’s red card controversy. Next, a London-based NGO filed a complaint with the IOC. And now, Infantino has been called out by English businessman and veteran pundit Simon Jordan. He urged for a united European front to take on the FIFA President.
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“Like a nation-state presiding over the economy of football,” Jordan said via talkSPORT. “The business of football, the nation of the landscape, means we talk about a footballing operation that he sits over, which is the same GDP as a small nation. There’s no wonder he gets drunk on the authority power.”
FIFA generates billions of dollars, and during its four-year World Cup cycles, which are projected to haul in up to $13 billion in total revenue, its average annual revenue of over $3 billion easily exceeds the World Health Organization budget. The revenue is almost similar to the UN’s core budget.
Additionally, it exceeds the GDP of countries like Tuvalu and Gambia. So, as per Jordan, Infantino may be acting more like a state’s chief with all the authority to himself, rather than a President of an organization.
😬 “It’s no wonder he gets drunk on the authority & power of it!”
👀 “We can’t allow this to continue!”
Simon Jordan rips into Gianni Infantino & urges UEFA to united the European nations against his presidency pic.twitter.com/gWcCKUkVOq
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 9, 2026
Considering how FIFA reversed Folarin Balogun’s suspension and didn’t accept Belgium’s appeal, European countries were already left unimpressed. That escalated further after England’s defender Jarell Quansah’s two-game ban. Quansah received an automatic two-match ban for serious foul play with no avenue to appeal.
Meanwhile, the USA’s Folarin Balogun was handed a significantly reduced punishment for a similar tackle. That angered England’s players, who felt the rules were not being applied evenly.
“I just found out that it’s a two-match ban, which is incredibly frustrating for him and for us,” Bukayo Saka told reporters on Thursday.
According to Jordan, it’s time for European countries to unite against the FIFA President.
“Why do we want to be out there finding ourselves in a situation where we’re prepared to have the courage of our convictions and no other budget behind us, prepared to do the same? Get the European countries around them around a table and say, ‘We can’t allow this to continue’,” Jordan added.
Belgium is also reportedly coordinating with UEFA in making a united stand against FIFA.
