BBC: Infantino is late for FIFA conference, Cheferin leads people to protest

May 16th According to the BBC, Infantino was late when attending the FIFA General Assembly, and Cheferin led his people to protest.

UEFA accused Infantino of putting "private political interests" first, resulting in the postponement of the FIFA General Assembly. Infantino arrived at the meeting two hours and seventeen minutes later than the original scheduled 10:30 (14:30 BST) because he accompanied US President Trump to the Middle East. Infantino said his itinerary was crucial for football because he was able to have "important discussions" with "world leaders in politics and economics."

In protest against his late arrival, UEFA President Cheferin led a group of European representatives, including FA President Debbie Hewitt, to leave during the break of the meeting. This led to a noticeable empty seating at the AFC Conference Center in the outskirts of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. UEFA said in a statement that he regretted the "last-minute change" of the timeline, but had to make a stand.

In response, UEFA said: "The FIFA Congress is one of the most important meetings in world football. 211 countries and regions around the world have jointly discussed issues affecting the entire sports community. The temporary change of schedule to cater to private political interests is not beneficial to football, but instead puts the interests of football second."

Norwegian Football Association Chairman Lis Kravenes added: "The annual conference is the most important meeting to ensure good governance of international football. The current situation is worrying. Member associations have come from all over the world to attend this conference in Paraguay, hoping to get professional leadership and the highest level of dialogue here."

In addition, some representatives from the North Central America and the Caribbean region also decided to leave the conference early. FIFA Secretary-General Matthias Grafstrom tried to ease tensions, saying: "FIFA has good relations with UEFA and European members, and the president has explained why he was late. He has important matters to deal with, and we have held a very successful conference here."