Infantino Backs World Cup Ticket Costs As FIFA Faces US Visa Dispute

MEXICO CITY (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday stood by the organisation’s pricing for World Cup seats, saying, “if we do something wrong, then probably everyone selling tickets in North America is doing something wrong.”

Infantino made the comments to journalists in an uncommon question-and-answer session one day before the first match of the enlarged World Cup, which now features 48 countries and 104 games. He pushed back against complaints about record prices, said FIFA could not force the United States government to allow a Somali match official into the country, and highlighted his role in helping Iran’s national football team gain entry to the US.

FIFA set group-stage tickets from US$140. For the July 19 final outside New York, ordinary seats were posted as high as US$8,680, while hospitality packages reached US$73,200. Final tickets were later increased to US$10,990 and then to US$32,970.

Following heavy criticism, FIFA made US$60 tickets available to national federations for their regular supporters. Infantino said 130,000 tickets were placed in that bracket.

At the previous World Cup in Qatar four years ago, tickets cost between US$69 and US$1,607.

“If you sell it at a lower price point,” he said, “in this particular market, it would have gone, which is perfectly legal in this country ... in secondary markets at much, much, much higher prices, and where would the money go then? Well, to those who organise secondary markets or black market activities and not to football.”

Infantino also described as unfortunate the refusal of US entry to Somali referee Omar Artan.

“We don’t control everything. We try. We’ll discuss, we'll speak, we’ll see. Maybe sometimes it’s good as well to just chill, relax,” he said. “We try to solve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution. Believe me when I tell you, or don’t believe me if you don’t want, but we try always to find solutions, always. But then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces.”

Artan, who was in line to become the first Somali official to referee at a World Cup, was refused entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday. US Customs and Border Protection said the decision was linked to unspecified “vetting concerns”, but did not outline what those concerns were.

“Our world is a very aggressive world and security goes above everything and you need to respect the decisions that are taken,” Infantino said. “We are working behind the scenes.”