July 24 – FIFPro’s new president Sergio Marchi has strongly criticised FIFA President Gianni Infantino, launching verbal missiles and landing direct hits on everything wrong with modern football governance.
“The biggest obstacle to FIFPro today is the autocracy of FIFA’s president,” Marchi said in a recent interview with The Athletic. “Infantino lives in his own world, the only thing that matters to him are these grand spectacles.”
This isn’t your typical diplomatic union-speak. Marchi, nicknamed “El Turco,” is a former defensive midfielder who captained San Lorenzo and understands what it means to actually play the game. More importantly, he’s got the political backbone to take on FIFA’s untouchable leadership.
While Infantino celebrates the Club World Cup’s $2 billion revenue and 2.5 million ticket sales, Marchi is clear on what his priorities are – the players. “More than half of professional players aren’t paid their wages,” he revealed. “Thousands are locked into contracts that are violated, many face abuse.”
The scheduling of Club World Cup matches in 100-degree heat perfectly captures FIFA’s disconnect. “It’s perverse to schedule matches at noon in that kind of heat,” Marchi said. “What are they waiting for? A tragedy? A collapse on the field?”
Even Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández criticized the conditions, but as Marchi points out: “Most of the time players are afraid speaking up could hurt their careers. But it’s up to us, their representatives, to speak for them.”
Marchi’s had three personal meetings with Infantino, including one where he presented detailed proposals for player protection. The result? “He took it, chopped it up, and presented it like he wrote it. He gave me his word. Shook my hand. Promised action. And did nothing.”
With the 2026 World Cup spanning three countries and 16 cities, teams will travel up to 3,000 miles between matches. FIFA projects $3 billion in revenue while “there are still footballers who haven’t been paid their salaries for two, three, even four years.”
Marchi’s challenge to Infantino is simple: “I’d debate him anywhere. Any journalist, any outlet, any format. Let the cameras roll.”
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