SvFF has turned around and no longer supports Gianni Infantino.
But Karl-Erik Nilsson does not rule out the possibility of swinging again and voting for him in March, when the FIFA presidential elections take place.
– At the moment it is unimaginable, but it is difficult to say what the world will look like in four months, so we have to follow developments, he says.
Recently, Sunday, the president of the Swedish Football Association, Karl-Erik Nilsson, told Expressen that they are actively considering supporting Gianni Infantino.
not longer.
After the events of the last few days at the World Cup, where FIFA banned participating nations from wearing “OneLove” captain armbands, the tone has changed.
Nilsson calls Fifa’s decision “incomprehensible” and says confidence in Infantino has “severely declined”.
– Currently, we did not vote for him in the election of the president. It wouldn’t be inconceivable, Nilsson tells Sportbladet, given what’s happened in recent days.
But he does not rule out the emergence of a new cow.
“things that happen”
The FIFA Congress where the presidential elections take place in March and Gianni Infantino is the only candidate. This means that it is already known that he will be re-elected. The alternative to not voting for him is to simply give up your vote.
And Karl-Erik Nilsson can’t say SvFF will do that.
why not?
– Because things happen. There are only four months left until the conference and we must follow developments until then and discuss them with our Nordic neighbours. We usually don’t decide until just before the conference. It applies in all matters of decision-making, and so does this one too. But then again, if Congress had been today, we wouldn’t be voting for Infantino.
Trust is damaged, but can it be restored?
– That’s how it is. We talk about people and relationships and things can happen. You don’t know if FIFA will reconsider this decision to use ‘OneLove’ bandages and if other positions will be taken. It is difficult to say what the world will look like in four months, so we have to follow the developments.
Lists four points
In a statement on the SvFF website, Karl-Erik Nilsson listed four points that he demands to be guaranteed by FIFA, in order for Sweden to consider giving Infantino its support:
- That a center for migrant workers be established in Qatar.
- Create a fund to compensate affected migrant workers in Qatar.
- Relations between FIFA and UEFA are improving significantly.
- Demonstrated commitment to improving the conditions for women’s football.
If you followed these points, would you vote for him?
– The points are part of the puzzle in its entirety, then we have to see what happens in the current issues that are now being discussed during the beginning of the water cycle. After all, Infantino held a press conference (on Saturday) that was sensational, and then we bared the “OneLove” bandages.
Given what has happened in the past few days, do you think Gianni Infantino is a good leader? After all, that’s what matters when you have to vote in the presidential election, right?
Unfortunately, in recent years we have witnessed many examples that have caused us to criticize him harshly. Among other things, he wanted to introduce the World Cup every two years and pushed the issue forward without pinning it down. So obviously there are a lot of question marks. Since he is the only candidate, we know he will be re-elected, but over time we need to find an alliance that enables us to produce another future leadership. There is no doubt about that.
You receive criticism for your handling of this matter. Olof Lund writes in one book blog posts On Fotbollskanalen that “Swedish football must sacrifice any reward in this world in order to fully defend its values”? Simon Bank writes in one Chronicle With us that “the problem is that quiet diplomacy works badly when all of Europe is screaming, realpolitik looks bad when the situation is acute.” What do you think that?
– I share the opinion they describe. We haven’t kept silent, we’ve talked about these issues and we’re trying to be as clear as possible.
FIFA World Cup matches Thursday, November 24:
11.00 Switzerland and Cameroon 14.00 Uruguay and South Korea 17.00 Portugal and Ghana 20.00 Brazil and Serbia