On November 19, 2022, during a hair-raising press conference, to raise the curtain of the Football World Cup, Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), stunned Western observers by defending the tournament organizing country, Qatar, on the sensitive issue of foreign workers. “I have a hard time with criticism. All these lecturers are hypocritesscathed the FIFA president. Who cares about migrant workers? FIFA, football and, let’s be clear, Qatar too. »
These vitriolic statements have taken on particular resonance since the revelations of Mediapart and the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium on the so-called “Qatargate” scandal in the European Parliament. On December 8, on the basis of legal elements obtained by the Belgian newspaper The evening, the investigative site highlighted the role played by Mr. Infantino as part of the lobbying campaign led, in November 2022, by the former Greek vice-president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, in favor of Doha.
Charged with “membership of a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption”, Mme Kaili recounted, in a note (destroyed on his phone on November 21, 2022) revealed by Mediaparthaving been invited to Qatar, by FIFA, in the “VVIP” stand (“very very important person”, very very important person) – on November 20, 2022, to attend the opening match of the World Cup. According to the said note, after the meeting, Mme Kaili had dinner during ” two o’clock » with Mr. Infantino, his wife, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) at the time, Noël Le Graët, and two ” French “. “I made them crazy,” she wrote.
According to this document, his objective was then to convince the guests to influence the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, in order to “stop” the initiative of the group of Macronist MEPs – at the forefront of which was parliamentarian Nathalie Loiseau – in favor of a draft resolution in the European Parliament condemning FIFA and Qatar.
Erwan Le Prévost, “zealous servant” of Le Graët
Eager to defend the interests of the emirate, Mr. Infantino relied on Mr. Le Graët, known as “NLG”, to put pressure on the Elysée, at the request of Mr.me Kaili, as the advance World someone familiar with the file? Contacted, FIFA “don’t comment on rumors.” “ There is no not and there has never been any special relationship between Mr. Infantino and Mr.me Kailiretorts the instance. Mr Infantino did not invite Mrme Kaili personally. Mme Kaili was invited to the World Cup as were hundreds of guests. » When asked, Mr. Le Graët did not respond.
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