The Detestable Gianni Infantino has Somehow Wrangled Some Public Support - Is the Saudi FA Blind?!

Saudi Arabia Announces Support for Infantino as Battle Rages of FIFA Presidency

Let's all be honest with ourselves - Gianni Infantino has to go. There is no way that after all of the lying, subterfuge, and subsequent damage done to his reputation that he can sensibly continue as FIFA president.

UEFA agree, so much so that the governing body of European football are making a concerted effort to either have him voted out by the FIFA council, or to resign of his own accord, with their threat of boycotting the next World Cup a clear message of their position.

🚨 BREAKING: Saudi Arabia backs Gianni Infantino following the appointment of new SAFF President Badr Al-Raziza, which will be confirmed at a General Assembly on August 30. pic.twitter.com/zHwSVq5RD6

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 27, 2026

However, despite the seemingly global anti-Infantino movement that is mounting more and more pressure on the unpopular Italian, it has become clear that, in some quarters, support for the disgraced FIFA president persists, nowhere more so than in Saudi Arabia, after the nation's FA dropped a shock statement of support on Thursday morning.

Saudi Subterfuge in Infantino Out Campaign

It was a profoundly baffling statement to release, as given the general opinion of the rest of world football, Saudi Arabia are very much going against the grain, an exceptionally brave move for a nation that has only emerged as a presence in the global game in the last five years or so.

Though the Saudi Pro League may now be in full swing, complete with free-spending transfers and high-profile names, it is still a very young league, while the international side, aside from shocking beating eventual World Cup champions Argentina in 2022, hasn’t really done anything of note, and certainly not enough to make as controversial a statement as they have done.

However, their financial muscle tends to prove decisive - alongside Qatar, who also publicly backed Infantino at the start of August, the Italian now has two of football’s richest superpowers behind him, a valuable endorsement which makes Infantino considerably harder to reach.

BREAKING: Qatar Football Association release a statement supporting Gianni Infantino 🚨 pic.twitter.com/WBVhojwyxq

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 1, 2026

The statement released earlier today started relatively harmlessly: “The Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation agreed the following position on the latest developments in global football.”

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from here - instead of taking the preferred stance of “steadfastly against” Infantino, Saudi Arabia all but labelled themselves his biggest fans.

Bombshell

“The SAFF welcomes the acknowledgement of mistakes, the apology, the decision not to proceed with the FFE proposal and the commitment to review the process, as set out in the recent joint open letter from the FIFA president and secretary general. These were important first steps.”

“The letter also committed FIFA to learning from the experience, improving its processes, communications and interactions, strengthening governance and addressing the challenges ahead in a united and transparent manner.”

The gist of the message was that the Saudi Arabia Football Federation are happy to allow Infantino and any other guilty parties to learn from their mistakes without punishment, which absolutely boggles the mind.

UEFA is set to lift its FIFA boycott threat after receiving guarantees against future private ownership of FIFA competitions.

The move would allow European teams to return to FIFA events, starting with the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland next week.

However, UEFA still wants… pic.twitter.com/dfDLpKgel8

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 27, 2026

The bald fraud literally tried to sell the World Cup to private investors - never in the history of the sport has the beautiful game been more disrespected than it was when the FFE scheme was officially announced. It was the sort of deceitful decision-making that in a bygone era would have seen the Italian president deposed, let alone given a slap on the hand followed by significant support.

Naturally, Saudi Arabia have plenty of reason to back the games global governing body - afterall, they have been selected as hosts of the 2034 World Cup, and to go against the president would be to risk that accolade - with Infantino’s questionable decision-making and inherent stubbornness to stay in his role, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone had that situation panned out.

So their support of Infantino is, in certain terms, justified - however, it is also the easy way out, completely spineless, and goes completely against the spirit of football.

Apologies do not matter when the mistakes that prompt them are this large - Infantino has backed himself into a corner, and is surrounded by rabid dogs baying for his demise. The fact he even has one guardian angel is a miracle, let alone two, and even with the eye-watering funds and now significant pull both nations have in the modern day, saving his job is still a huge long shot.