Infantino mocks reporter's baldness as FIFA president faces calls to resign

FIFA president Gianni Infantino responded to questions about his future by mocking a Sky News journalist’s baldness, as pressure mounts on him from across the global game over his controversial plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions.

Sky News reporter James Matthews tracked Infantino down in the Dominican Republic, where the FIFA president had travelled to attend a Caribbean Football Union under-14s tournament. When Matthews asked Infantino directly whether he had betrayed football and why he had not resigned, Infantino — who is himself bald — deflected with a personal jibe. “You have a nice haircut, thank you so much. See you at the hairdressers,” he said.

Infantino’s presence in the Dominican Republic was itself contentious. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliano, who also serves as a FIFA vice-president, wrote to Infantino asking him to stay away from the youth competition. In the letter, Montagliano warned that Infantino’s attendance would “unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition” and urged him to “reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity.”

The Dominican Republic’s Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kelvin Cruz, took a markedly different view, welcoming Infantino warmly and stating that his visit “puts us on the international football radar and opens us great prospects for growth and development of Dominican football.”

Infantino has spent the past two months clinging to power despite a widening coalition of opposition. The Asian Football Confederation, CONCACAF and UEFA have all withdrawn their support for him, while the football associations of more than 20 nations — including England, Germany, France, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, Serbia and Canada — have publicly expressed their opposition.

Despite the mounting pressure, Infantino is reportedly seeking election to a third term as FIFA president, a bid that now faces significant resistance from the sport’s major governing bodies.