Representatives from several European Fifa member associations walked out of the governing body’s annual congress in Paraguay in protest of president Gianni Infantino’s late arrival to the proceedings on Thursday. Infantino had been in the Middle East this week along with Donald Trump visiting leaders from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and arrived in Paraguay hours late for a scheduled 10.30am start time to his organization’s annual meeting.
The departing members included eight European members of the Fifa Council – the main decision-making body that sets the agenda for the wider congress. Uefa’s representatives on the Council to have walked out include Uefa president Alexander Čeferin and Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt. Other delegates to have left proceedings in protest include Norway Football Federation president Lise Klaveness, who called Infantino’s late arrival “disappointing” and “concerning.”
