Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset published an open letter on July 19 condemning FIFA for bowing to political and financial pressure, hours before Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final in North America.
Berset singled out FIFA's decision to lift the suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. He also denounced the governing body's partnership with official prediction-market partner ADI Predictstreet as an "open door to fraud," warning against the mounting influence of sports betting, racist abuse, and attacks on referees. Seventy-two European Parliament members called for an investigation into Infantino's role in the Balogun affair.
During the tournament, Infantino flew roughly 95,000 kilometres on a private Qatar Airways jet to attend 43 matches, according to an Associated Press tally.