FIFA President Gianni Infantino Fires Back at Criticism Over Selfie Near Pelé’s Casket

FIFA President Gianni Infantino Fires Back at Criticism Over Selfie Near Pelés Casket

Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, responded to criticism following his awkwardly timed photo taken on Monday during Pelé's memorial service.

Photographers saw the FIFA president taking a picture at the ceremony at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, where Pele played for 18 years, just a few feet from where his body was lying.

As Infantino posed for the picture in the background, Pelé's daughter Kelly Cristina Nascimento was seen in the photo greeting mourners next to the casket.

Along with a handful of Pelé's colleagues, including best buddy Manoel Maria, Infantino released a different angle of the photo and an explanation of the viral occasion.

“I am dismayed after having been informed that I am apparently being criticized by some people for having taken a selfie and pictures at the ceremony yesterday,” Infantino said on Instagram.

“I would like to clarify that I was both honoured and humbled that teammates and family members of the great Pelé asked me if I could take a few photos with them. And obviously I immediately agreed.”

“In the case of the selfie, Pelé’s teammates asked to do a selfie of all of us together but they didn’t know how to do it. So, to be helpful, I took the phone of one of them and took the photo of all of us for him.”

Soccer fans blasted Infantino for the “classless” photo with many comparing the 52-year-old to disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. In 2015, Blatter was banned from FIFA activities for ethics violations

“It takes a lot to be worse than Sepp Blatter but Gianni Infantino is running it close,” one Twitter user said.

“Everytime I think Gianni Infantino can’t dig himself an even deeper hole, he somehow manages it,” said another user.