Infantino needs lessons in history, geography and leadership
Where to start with Gianni Infantino’s latest nonsense? “For the first time in history, no Brit was arrested during a World Cup!” Fifa’s president laughed when celebrating Qatar 2022 while giving a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Imagine! This is something really special!” It would be tempting to ignore such ill-advised comments except this is the Fifa president, who should be more accurate and accountable.
Here’s five things Infantino should have realised…
1. Infantino does a disservice to all who have worked hard to improve England fans’ behaviour abroad: groups like the Football Supporters’ Association, England Supporters Travel Club and Block 109; good people at the FA; police liaison officers and spotters; more enlightened officials at the FCO; and sensible policing in some other countries (Germany best). I’ve covered England’s last 33 games at World Cups and the general trend since the riot in Marseille at France 98 - when 100 England fans were arrested in the 24 hours around the Tunisia group game and those of us covering events also got pepper-sprayed by the CRS - has been towards improved supporter behaviour.
2002: no trouble.
2006: police estimated 315,000 England fans travelled to Germany to watch the five games. Arrest figures appeared high: 510 in Stuttgart, 120 in Gelsenkirchen. But police point out these were mainly “preventative” arrests and, adding some perspective, that of 6,000 arrests in Germany, 711 were English. When Germany played Poland, Dortmund police reported 429 arrests, including 119 from Poland and 278 Germans. The behaviour of England fans was actually commended by UK police and German hosts. It also contrasted with events back home where police were attacked by 500 yobs in Bolton following England’s exit in Gelsenkirchen. Is yobbery a societal problem or footballing? Both because the first finds opportunity in the second, especially in the past.
2010: no arrests.
2014: generally well-behaved, although some England fans fought each other, including a nasty ear-biting incident.
2018: a small group of England fans were filmed making Nazi salutes in Volgograd. Otherwise, the National Police Chiefs’ Council reported only three arrests out of 6,873 travelling England fans in Russia. Numbers may have been down because many fans didn’t travel out of fear of trouble following ambushes by Russian fans in Marseille at Euro 2016.
2022: “impeccable” behaviour according to Fifa. Infantino intimates that it was down to no alcohol in Qatar that overlooked it could be sourced in hotels, from delivery men and on boats that many fans stayed on. Alcohol does play a part in behaviour, of course. Budweiser has been the official beer sponsor of the World Cup for three decades. Even now, it’s not quite peace in our time. It needs acknowledging that it is embarrassing still hearing some of the chants, the occasional “10 German bombers” and “no surrender” and bouts of boorish behaviour. The friendly in Amsterdam before the 2018 World Cup was riddled with unpleasant scenes. No excuses except that it was a Friday night, in an easily accessible “stag-do” location, and reflective of broader societal issues. Infantino’s thinking needs to be more sophisticated.
⚽ ⚽
2. If Infantino had been more intelligent in his thinking on a nuanced issue he might have tackled a more important subject: domestic abuse during World Cups. During Russia 2018, there was a spike in domestic abuse incidents back in England, including 62 after the Sweden game and 64 after the Croatia semi-final. The highest number at Euro 2016 was 24 after the Russia game. Back in 2013, Lancaster University researched domestic abuse cases reported to local police at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Abuse soared by 38% when England lost, 26% if win or draw. It continued into the next day with an average 11% increase. And these was the reported incidents; many went unreported. Rather than making a joke about World Cup issues in Davos, Infantino could have used his stage to make a powerful point about domestic abuse.