国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺在Instagram上发布15张幻灯片，向对其领导、国际足联和2026世界杯提出的批评进行回应[1]。在这份声明中，因凡蒂诺要求批评者"冥想、祈祷或看足球比赛"[1]，并声称该世界杯实现了"100%的安全保障"和"零事件、零暴力"[1]。
然而，多项争议事件与因凡蒂诺的说法相悖。伊朗队在赛事期间遭遇多重困难，包括签证延误、核心工作人员被拒入境以及球迷票券被撤销[1]。伊朗主教练阿米尔·加列诺伊称其球队是世界杯上"最受压迫的"[1]。此外，来自海地、塞内加尔、象牙海岸的球迷因特朗普政府旅行禁令而被拒入境[1]。索马里裁判奥马尔·阿坦因美国当局所称的"与恐怖组织嫌疑人的关联"被拒入美[1]。
美国前锋福拉林·巴洛贡的红牌禁赛决定也成为争议焦点。特朗普曾致电因凡蒂诺为巴洛贡争取禁赛取消，而国际足联随后暂停了该禁赛[1]。这一决定违反了国际足联自身规则——世界杯规则规定红牌禁赛不可上诉或推翻[2]。欧足联对此公开批评，称这一决定"越过了红线"，评为"前所未有、令人费解和不可接受的"[1]。此外，国际足联正在调查阿根廷在世界杯决赛后与西班牙球员的冲突[1]。
FIFA President Gianni Infantino posted a 15-slide statement on Instagram to counter criticism of his leadership, the organization, and the 2026 World Cup tournament [1][2]. In the post, which reached FIFA's 8 million followers, Infantino urged detractors to "meditate, pray or watch football" [1]. The statement came with comments disabled [2].
Infantino claimed the World Cup achieved "100% safety and security" with "zero incidents, zero violence" [1][2]. However, the tournament was marked by multiple controversies. Iran's national team faced significant obstacles, including visa delays, entry denials for key staff members, and ticket cancellations [1]. Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei described his team as "the most oppressed" at the World Cup [1]. Additionally, fans from Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast were denied entry due to Trump administration travel restrictions [1][2]. Somali referee Omar Atan was refused entry over unsubstantiated associations with terrorist organizations [1][2].
A particularly contentious issue involved American forward Folarin Balogun's red card suspension. Trump reportedly called Infantino to reverse the ban, and FIFA subsequently suspended the punishment—a decision that violated FIFA's own rules prohibiting such appeals [2]. UEFA publicly condemned the move, stating FIFA had "crossed a red line" in what it called an "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unacceptable" decision [1][2]. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin notably did not attend the World Cup final, reportedly in protest [2].