FIFA President Gianni Infantino, 56, published a 15-slide open letter on July 27 defending the 2026 World Cup held across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which was won by Spain [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

Infantino accused critics of focusing on negativity, saying, "You were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all," and claimed the tournament was safe with "100% safety and security, only joy and happiness" [1]. He said millions of fans experienced joy and unity during the event, which drew 7 million spectators onsite from over 200 countries and billions more watching worldwide [1, 3, 4, 10, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

Despite this, FIFA faced sharp criticism for several issues. Visa restrictions by the US affected supporters and officials from countries including Iran, Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry despite having a visa [2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Iran’s team faced logistical hurdles, including moving their training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, due to visa delays and ticket allocation limits amidst political tensions with the US [2, 4, 6, 8, 9].

Infantino described Iran’s participation positively, stating, "Iran entered the United States without incident or conflict. The Iranian team received visas to enter because football is about peace. It’s not about politics" [1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9]. However, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called his team the “most oppressed” at the World Cup, highlighting contrasting views on Iran's treatment [2, 8].

The tournament also saw controversies in officiating, especially in Argentina's matches, and a notable disciplinary decision involving US forward Folarin Balogun, who had a red card but did not serve the mandatory one-match ban after intervention by former US President Donald Trump. FIFA denied political interference in the suspension [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. US Representative Jamie Raskin accused Infantino of "outright bribery" linked to Trump and the US administration [5].

Tragically, four people suffocated during celebrations in Mexico City following Mexico’s victory over Ecuador. Infantino did not mention these deaths in his letter [5].

FIFA is investigating an on-pitch altercation that occurred between Argentina and Spain players after the final match in July 2026 [2, 6]. Infantino closed his letter urging critics to reflect, meditate, or watch football instead of spreading hate [7].