World Cup 2026: Page 172 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One more in the Tolly

World Cup 2026

Mirth

This guy is a cartoon villian

QuincyAbeyie

Mirth This guy is a cartoon villian

JazzG

Gurgen Blatter was actually against the Qatar World Cup. He thought the corruption that led to that decision was too blatant and the world would not accept it. His corruption was more old world, more refined and perhaps a tad more naive. Infantino corruption is more like Trump.

Unless I am mistake isn't that what triggered off the Americans going after Blatter and the rest of them? Like you say Blatter was corrupt but old school lot knew their limits and didn't go beyond that. I did wonder at the time if giving the Americans the 2026 World cup was to get them off their backs...

Gurgen The saddest thing about all of this is is that Wenger seems to be a willing participant in this entire circus

Sometimes our heroes are not who we think they are. A part of me likes to think he is working internally to try and stop this but I am not entirely sure about that....

USArsenal

Related question, but unrelated at the same time.. Who was the bald guy sitting with Wenger all the time at the world cup that looked like a younger version of Ron Howard? Have been trying to figure that out since the WC started.

daredevil

Potential candidates for the FIFA presidency is like choosing between the devil and his pals. Apparently, Nasser El Khelaifi was being pushed as a possible runner against Infantino. If he's the alternative, there's no winning here even if Infantino leaves. Much like going from Havelange to Blatter to Infantino. All absolutely corrupt bastards.

JazzG

Infan who, never heard of the guy.....Learning the hard way about swimming in shark waters.

Gazza M

public backlash and good journalism has stopped this shit twice now. but they will come back. this particular cabal is rather rapey in their unwillingness to take no for an answer. they want to take hold of football because its an extremely powerful lever of global extortion if they can take control of it

JazzG

awooga83

JazzG I mean if you're remaining at the organisation you're complicit I'm afraid. Also he mentions integrity and transparency being crucial, they've been long gone at FIFA because at its heart it is a fully corrupt organisation. So if you do believe in those aspects they are not compatible with remaining at the organisation.

Mirth

JazzG

Arsene playing the “I did not see it” card till the very end.

daredevil

awooga83

You can't be complicit when you weren't consulted and Infantino clearly went rogue and pushed this largely by himself due to what seemed like external pressures i.e. Trump and PE.

Furthermore, whether we like it or not, FIFA is footballs governing body. Resigning doesn't enact positive change, it's giving up when shit goes left. Wenger is in a position where he can be a force for good. Leaving your post because your boss went rogue with a plan which was shot down in less than a week and will likely be forced out in the end - is short sighted.

We need the good people in FIFA to stay and change the culture - not leave which does absolutely fuck all to enact change.

awooga83

daredevil I'm sorry that's just excuses for somebody people desperately want to be what they hope rather then accept them for what they are, as most people, flawed human beings.

Fifa didn't just become a corrupt organisation in the last week it's been that way the entire time Wenger has been there. If you believe in integrity and transparency then you would not stay there. If you claim to, whatever nice words your you say, it's your actions that condemn you and nothing he's done says Wenger actually does anything about it.

If your argument is you need Wenger their to make it better, FIFA has gone off the scales in terms of corruption in the time he's been there so he cannot be having any impact so how does him being there add anything when it's clearly getting worse. Best case nobody is listening to him so he's a useful stooge and at worst he doesn't care

This is a classic as humans are want to do, project on someone they have an emotional affinity for or respected do something incompatible with what we would like them to live up to rather then concede they might not be the person you hoped. The myths are always more compelling then the reality.

The complicity comes from remaining at a corrupt organisation knowing it's corrupt. The action Infantino has done has been consistent, focused on his own greed and ego and I don't believe Wenger doesn't know exactly who infantino is and what his leadership of FIFA means for football. But he chooses to be part of it

Gurgen

daredevil don't be naive. Wenger is well known for being an Infantino ally

daredevil

awooga83

That's not what complicity means. Working for an organisation doesn't make someone complicit in everything its leader does. Complicity requires knowledge of the wrongdoing and some form of participation or failure to act where there is a responsibility to do so. What evidence do you have that Wenger was silently complicit?

Wrong. FIFA has always had corrupt leaders throughout its history, but that doesn't negate the role Wenger plays in developing the game globally. Someone can make a positive contribution within their own remit without being responsible for everything the organisation's leadership does.

You're talking as though FIFA is a monolith where every employee is accountable for every decision made by the president. That's simply not how organisations work. People have different roles, responsibilities, governance structures, and lines of accountability. Holding everyone personally responsible for the actions of the leader is irrational.

It sounds like you're not even aware of what Wenger actually does at FIFA. His role isn't to oversee or hold Infantino to account.

Until you can provide any evidence - you're the one projecting here.

daredevil

Gurgen

So what? The COO who sits at the same level as Wenger and the senior adviser to the president both immediately distanced themselves from it and said it was solely Infantino's plan and they had no involvement and Wenger also said he only heard about it through the media. Sure, Wenger's timing is questionable given he didn't speak up sooner, but the fact that two other senior figures did and called out Infantino for doing it without any internal or external consultation lends credibility to the argument that he did it all in private with the prospective investors.

awooga83

daredevil Wenger adds credibility by being associated with FIFA and working there. This is then used to legitimise FIFA and it's activities, by remaining there you allow that state of affairs to continue. FIFA is an overtly corrupt organisation if you continue to work for such an organisation you are complicit because you know it's bad and you don't care and remain there.

I don't know what Wenger may specifically know about FIFA, but for me as an outsider I can see they are a highly corrupt organisation and the way it conducts itself. There have been numerous media outlets covering this for a long time. Now Wenger is an intelligent man, I think it's inconceivable he would not know the nature of the organisation he works for when many people external can see that. Even Infantino's sycophantic engagement with trump would show you that, see the ludicrous peace prize. If with all that's happened under FIFA that isn't enough for Wenger to see and recognise the wholesale corruption of this organisation and that it runs contrary to all the things he says he cares about and he still chooses to emain part of said organisation then yes he is complicit by his acquiescence to that scenario. He doesn't have to stay in that job and he's wealthy enough he could choose to leave. He has not and the only conclusion for me can be on his actions he actually does not have a principled objection to it.

Gurgen

daredevil actually it only lends credibility to the fact that rats leave the ship when they smell the PR disaster. It's absurd to think that all evil at FIFA comes from Infantino alone and no-one has any knowledge of it. Talk of being irrational.

Claudius

FIFA is an organisation with 4000 people. It will be a highly political place where there are a lot of moving parts, including activities that many do not know about. as @daredevil has said, several people did not know. UEFA which is the richest affiliate had no idea this was happening. So why should Wenger whose job it is to make sure grassroots football is functioning. I have seen many leadership teams where half the executive is in the know about sensitive topics and the other half are completely caught by surprise when announcements are made, even on topics that impact them directly. Infantino is a snake seeking political and economic clout. I highly doubt he's taking late night calls with Wenger to troubleshoot his schemes

awooga83

Claudius sorry should say I'm not that bothered what Wenger did or didn't know about this specific mess but he can't be that surprised by the behaviour of Infantino to act in such a reprehensible way. He also does absolutely know what a disgraceful and corrupt organisation FIFA is and everything it's done under infantino so his complicity is why are you still there when you can see what a disgrace the organisation is and where it's going. You should just quit, you can't claim ignorance to what FIFA as an organisation is in 2026. If you claim to care about transparency and integrity that is incompatible with the organisation you are working for so there is the test do you really believe in those things are do you just say you do.

daredevil

Gurgen

It's a good thing I never said all evil comes from Infantino then.

awooga83

Gurgen yeah it's absurd these guys are like wow he's corrupt I had no idea obviously I would have found it unacceptable. They saw the backlash and then they joined how brave of them.

daredevil

awooga83

'I don't know what Wenger may specifically know about FIFA' - indeed.

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