World Cup 2022: Gianni Infantino defends FIFA’s stance on the ‘OneLove’ armband

Seven European nations competing at the tournament - including England and Wales - planned to wear anti-discrimination armbands during matches but were dissuaded from doing so following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.

England captain Harry Kane was due to wear the armband only for the decision to be taken just hours before kick-off in their opening game against Iran that he should no longer do so.

Instead, FIFA brought forward its own armband campaign which had originally been scheduled to start in the latter stages of the tournament, with FIFA president Infantino calling for the sporting regulations to be upheld.

"It's not about prohibiting or not prohibiting. It's about respecting regulations, we have regulations which say on the field of play, you play football and that's what we did," he said.

"Everyone is free to express his views, his opinion, his beliefs, the way he believes, as long as it's done in a respectful way.

"When it comes to the pitch, to the field of play, you need to respect football, you need to respect the field of play and these regulations are exactly there for this reason.

"This is nothing new, they are there for this reason to respect and to protect the 211 football teams (under the FIFA banner), not 211 heads of states, regimes, or what have you."

There have been incidents of supporters being told they cannot access World Cup stadiums while wearing rainbow clothing, despite FIFA insisting it has said that should not be the case.

The death of migrant workers, a poor record of human rights and the treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in Qatar have all had a spotlight shone on them since the Gulf state was first awarded the World Cup in 2010.

Following the decision not to wear the 'OneLove' armband, Germany's players covered their mouths ahead of their first game at the World Cup.

Infantino said: "It is 211 football teams and their fans who want to come and enjoy football and this is what we are here for and, honestly, I believe that we are defending values, we are defending human rights, we are defending the rights of everyone in FIFA, in the World Cup.

"But I also believe that those fans who come to the stadium - those 80,000, 70,000, 90,000 - and all those billions of fans who are watching the World Cup on TV, maybe we should think about that and I say this candidly really to everyone, everyone has their own problems.

"They just want to spend 90 minutes or now 100 minutes or 105 minutes or whatever without having to think about anything else than just enjoying a little moment of pleasure and joy or at least emotion.

"That's what we have to do. We have to give to all these people a moment of time in their life where they can forget about their own problems and enjoy football.

"Between and after competitions, during competitions outside of the match in the field of play, well, everyone can express his views and opinions the way he wants. But let's give this moment of joy to those who want to enjoy the game."

Infantino, meanwhile, has confirmed the introduction of a new quadrennial men's Club World Cup that will kick off in 2025 and feature 32 top teams from across the globe.

The FIFA Council met in Qatar on Friday to discuss a variety of matters, including international match calendars and competitions for men's and women's football.

The launch of an expanded 32-team Club World Cup in June 2025 was among the most eye-catching decisions, having cancelled the original 24-team tournament planned for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"There will be a Club World Cup with 32 teams to be played every four years," FIFA chief Infantino said. "The first edition will take place in 2025 in the summer.

"During that slot where in the past we used to have the Confederations Cup and it will be slightly longer because obviously there are 32 teams.

"But they will be the best teams in the world. They will be invited to participate.

"But all of the details will be developed in due course, and we'll decide where it will take place as well over the next few weeks or months in consultation with all of the stakeholders.

"FIFA Council has taken the decision now as a matter of principle to hold that Club World Cup.

"But don't forget we were the only football organisation in the world, I think anyway, at the international level not to have organised the competition during the pandemic.

"Everyone else postponed their competitions, then shorten them and played them and we had a Club World Cup planned in 2020 with 24 teams. That was cancelled. It wasn't replaced or postponed.

"We did that because we wanted to allow for the Copa America, the Euros and we wanted to protect the health and wellbeing of players and not overburden the calendar."

The Club World Cup announcement came the day after a key legal opinion was published saying UEFA and FIFA's right to block new competitions like the European Super League is compatible with EU law.

The FIFA Council also endorsed the creation of a new women's Club World Cup among a variety of other decisions taken in Doha, including the introduction of a FIFA World Series friendly tournament.

"What we have seen in this particular World Cup is the importance of having matches between national teams of different continents happening more regularly, more often," Infantino said.

"The idea there and the principle that was agreed - again details to be elaborated - is to use the March windows, the 10 days in March, in the even years, so the World Cup years and Copa America or Euro years, to organise friendly tournaments between four teams of four different confederations.

"That is so everyone can gain this experience of playing with each other under, of course, the umbrella of FIFA, so FIFA World Series type of events to allow more matches between teams of different confederations."

In regards to the men's 2023-2026 international calendar, the FIFA Council also decided that the September and October windows will be merged into one four-match window at the end of September into early October.

FIFA announced that the hosts of the 2030 World Cup will be decided in 2024, with bid regulations to be published early next year.

The Women's World Cup hosts for 2027 and 2031 will be decided in 2024 and 2025, respectively.