FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended World Cup ticket prices, saying Wednesday "if we are doing something wrong, everyone in North America is doing something wrong." This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Speaking at a press conference in Mexico City, Infantino noted that tickets for the 48-nation, 104-game tournament start at $140, with regular seats for the July 19 final in New Jersey priced up to $8,680. Prices for the final were later raised to $10,990 and then $32,970. After criticism, FIFA offered 130,000 tickets at $60 to national federations for regular supporters. Infantino said the average ticket price was under $500, comparable to other US sports playoffs, though this claim holds for resale prices but not list prices.
Infantino said he was unconcerned about investigations by attorneys general in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas: "We are very relaxed about it because before starting to sell 6.5 million or 7 million tickets we check what we do with the best lawyers. We welcome every investigation."
He also called it "unfortunate" that Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US and said people "should chill." Infantino stated FIFA cannot dictate to governments who to let into their countries, though it works "behind the scenes." "We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and to find solutions. Sometimes we manage, other times not. We don't live on the moon, we live on planet Earth," he said.
Infantino praised FIFA for its preparations, highlighting successes in security and logistics.