From Putin to Trump: 5 Times FIFA Bent the Knee

FIFA calls itself the guardian of the world's game — but pull back the curtain, Tara Palmeri argues, and it looks less like a sports body and more like a global power broker where politics and money matter more than soccer. In this documentary-style breakdown, Tara is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger, author of "Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sports Scandal," to walk through FIFA's most damning chapters. They trace the through-line of patronage: Russia's bribe-fueled 2018 World Cup and Gianni Infantino's full-throated embrace of Vladimir Putin (who awarded him the Order of Friendship at the Kremlin); the 1978 tournament staged in Argentina under a murderous military dictatorship; Qatar 2022, won through bribery and built by migrant workers who died by the thousands, then defended by Infantino's surreal "Today I feel Qatari, today I feel a migrant worker" speech; and the engineered 2034 process that cleared every rival so Saudi Arabia could win unopposed — shortly before state oil giant Aramco signed a massive FIFA sponsorship. Finally, they get to the 2026 World Cup on North American soil, where — for the first time in 60 years — a red-card suspension was overturned, not through a referee appeal, but after President Trump personally called the FIFA president. Bensinger explains why, given everything about how FIFA operates, that stunning reversal was almost inevitable — and how Infantino's cultivation of Trump, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia keeps the money flowing and his grip on power secure. 0:00 – FIFA as a global power broker: meet reporter Ken Bensinger 0:43 – Russia 2018: bribes, sanctions, and Infantino's embrace of Putin 1:49 – Argentina 1978: a World Cup under a military dictatorship 2:13 – Qatar 2022: bribery, migrant worker deaths, and the "Today I feel…" speech 3:58 – The Saudi Arabia 2034 maneuver — and the Aramco sponsorship 5:23 – Trump's phone call that overturned a red card at the 2026 World Cup 6:53 – Infantino's grip on power, an $11 billion World Cup, and dodging questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices