FIFA chief Infantino’s ‘abuse of power’ questioned by Norway in complaints as reflected on by Sister Maria Teresa Morales
Here in our hospitality shelter, late afternoon brings quiet. The dust settles. Clinic triage finishes. Young men from Guatemala and Venezuela often inflate a weathered ball with a bicycle pump. They set two plastic milk crates for goals in the dirt lot behind our kitchen. For an hour, the cruelties of the desert journey vanish. Pure joy fills the air as the ball flies. Shared laughter needs no translation. Sport, at its simplest, offers a gift of communion. It reminds us that our bodies are made for play and fellowship, not just toil. This scene starkly contrasts with news of Infantino’s abuse of power.
Accountability in Leadership
News reaches us from Zurich’s distant boardrooms. Norway’s football federation filed formal ethics complaints against FIFA President Gianni Infantino. They cite abuses of power and governance violations. The contrast is stark indeed. Here in the borderlands, we see daily how institutions lose their souls. Power detaches itself from ordinary people it serves. Consequently, it inevitably curdles into arrogance. What began as a celebration of human movement becomes an engine of personal influence. Opaque committees and backroom compromises shield this influence.
Scripture speaks unsparingly about high office temptations. Christ warned his disciples. He said Gentile rulers lord it over their subjects. Their great ones make authority felt. Among those seeking what is holy, leadership must take the shape of a servant. Yet in modern global enterprises, leadership too often becomes a private fiefdom. This applies to corporate conglomerates, sports empires, and political administrations. When governance becomes self-referential, rules bend quietly. They accommodate the powerful’s desires. Meanwhile, ordinary adherents are expected to keep cheering and paying.
The Duty of Fraternal Correction
It takes moral courage to demand accountability within massive structures. The Norwegian federation’s decision to question Infantino’s conduct is not a trivial dispute. It is an act of truth-telling. Silence is usually bought with patronage and lucrative tournament allocations in this arena. In our tradition, we call this the duty of fraternal correction. Loving an institution properly does not mean flattering its leaders. It means insisting the institution remain faithful to its true mission and just in its stewardship. This applies to concerns about Infantino’s abuse of power and integrity.
Football fundamentally belongs to children playing barefoot in desert camps. It belongs to parish youth leagues. Millions pour modest wages into match tickets because they believe in fair play. When leaders treat international governing bodies as personal vehicles for prestige, they commit theft. They steal the integrity of a common cultural good. This good belongs to humanity, not to an executive suite. Ultimately, their actions diminish everyone.
Humility on the Dirt Pitch
Here along the international boundary, we witness consequences. Human institutions forget whom they serve. Families break from policies crafted by comfortable administrators. These officials have never looked into a mother’s tired eyes. The rot always begins at the top, in boardrooms. There, unchecked authority convinces itself of its own indispensability. When leaders believe they are above the rules, ordinary people bear the cost of their vanity.
The sun dips behind desert mountains. The evening bell calls us to prayer. The boys outside finish their game. They shake hands in mutual respect under the open sky. True sport still lives out here where nothing is sold. We can only pray. We hope those who hold the keys to the world’s games might learn from the humility of the dirt pitch. Authority is legitimate only when it guards the dignity of the weak. It must submit itself willingly to the light of truth.
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