Gianni Infantino wants to bring Emmanuel Macron to his side on the way to the award ceremony, but he dupes the FIFA President live on TV.
Lusail – Actually, at the awards ceremony after the finale, the World Cup 2022 all about the teams and especially the winning ones Argentines turn, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino probably wanted to send another sign into the world. When he, together with various officials, makes his way towards the stage set up on the pitch, he wants the French President Emmanuel Macron bring to his side. But in front of the cameras, he refuses and snubs Infantino in front of the world public, as reported by tz.de.
Macron rejects Infantino’s outstretched hand
Shortly before the medal presentation after the Argentine victory over France the officials made their way to the stage on the pitch. Among them is French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country has close political ties to Qatar. On the way out of the dressing room, he lined up third behind Gianni Infantino and the Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. But Infantino probably wanted to send a signal into the world and bring the French forward next to him, stretched out his hand backwards.
However, the French President was not keen on Infantino’s offer and remained in his place behind the Emir. Whether he consciously wanted to evade instrumentalization or simply the disappointment of the defeat of France predominated is not known.
Infantino tries to save the situation
Infantino, who probably didn’t expect his offer to be rejected, looks briefly surprised and then becomes aware of the cameras trained on what is happening. With a rather forced gesture that should come across as casual, he wants to dismiss the matter, raises both hands and shrugs his shoulders.
The scenes during the awarding of the medals speak against the fact that Macron was not aware of the symbolism. When honoring the defeated French, the president is visibly trying to give the players a warm hug and encourage them. He wants to send a message home himself: Look, I’m standing by our World Cup heroes, even if they only end up second. Football fans who long for real emotions, on the other hand, should at the tearful interview of Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni the heart opened up. less enthusiastic the fans showed up because of the cape that Messi got before the cup handover. (sh)