European walkout at Fifa Congress after chief Gianni Infantino s delayed arrival

LUQUE – Fuming European delegates staged a walkout at Fifa’s Congress in Paraguay on May 15 after world football chief Gianni Infantino jetted in late for the session, following meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with United States President Donald Trump.

Fifa president Infantino’s belated arrival at the global body’s annual meeting caused a delay of more than two hours.

Several representatives from European football associations – including Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin – cut short their attendance after Infantino called a recess at the event taking place in Luque, outside Asuncion.

Uefa issued a strongly worded statement following the walkout, describing the disruption caused by Infantino’s late arrival as “deeply regrettable”, accusing the Fifa chief of putting his “private political interests” ahead of the sport.

“The Fifa congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world’s game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world,” the Uefa statement read.

“To have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second.

“Uefa members of the Fifa Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled.”

Infantino for his part issued an apology for his tardiness in remarks to the congress before the delegates left.

He blamed flight problems for his late arrival but stressed the importance of attending the meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups respectively.

“As Fifa president, my responsibility is to make decisions in the best interests of the organisation... I felt I had to be there to represent football and all