Petit Signs Petition Against Infantino but Predicts It Will Have No Effect

Emmanuel Petit has signed the petition calling for Gianni Infantino’s removal, but he harbours no illusions about its real impact. Contacted by Mikaël Silvestre, the 1998 World Cup winner has joined a collective of legends — Luis Figo, Didier Drogba, Juan Sebastián Verón, Bixente Lizarazu and Robert Pirès — to demand a change at the head of FIFA.

“It’s a futile gesture,” Petit said bluntly. “Nothing will happen afterwards, there are no proposed measures, no proposed alternative, knowing that candidacies close in November, it’s practically tomorrow. It’s a banana republic, I know very well that what we’re doing will have no impact.”

The former Arsenal left midfielder points in particular to Infantino’s recent actions, notably his involvement in the 2026 World Cup in connection with Donald Trump — including the episode of Folarin Balogun’s suspension being overturned — and recalls the scandals that marked the presidency of Sepp Blatter, the Swiss executive’s predecessor.

Petit is careful, however, not to condemn his former teammates who have chosen to engage with the organisation. He holds no grudge against Youri Djorkaeff, general director of the FIFA Foundation since September 2019 and close to Infantino, believing that everyone has made their own choices.

Convinced for years that FIFA needs structural revolution, Petit concludes by paraphrasing a quote from Albert Einstein: “The world doesn’t fail because of people who do wrong, it fails because of people who do nothing and watch.” A lucid admission of powerlessness, but also a call not to remain silent.