The key facts
- An 11-meter effigy of Gianni Infantino was burned in Edenbridge during Bonfire Night
- The figure contained references to the 'Manchester City' case, the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, and the Folarin Balogun story
- Since 1994, Edenbridge has annually burned figures of famous people; last year it was Keir Starmer
A traditional burning with a political subtext
Residents of the English town of Edenbridge in Kent burned an 11-meter effigy of FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the traditional Bonfire Night celebrations. Organizers from the Edenbridge Bonfire Society streamed the ceremony on Facebook. This was reported by Life.ru.
Details of the effigy and references to scandals
The figure was made of papier-mâché. Infantino was depicted with banknotes sticking out of his ears, a golden statuette of Donald Trump in one hand, and a red card reading 'Hotline' in the other. According to the outlet, the latter detail referred to the story involving US national team player Folarin Balogun: FIFA suspended his disqualification, and journalist Ben Jacobs claimed the decision came after a call to the organization from the White House. A book titled 'Presidents for Dummies' was attached to the figure's wrist, and a trash bin with a Manchester City shirt was placed nearby — in this way the organizers drew attention to the scandals surrounding football's leadership: in September, an independent Premier League commission stated that the club had entered into sham commercial deals between 2009 and 2018, which, according to its findings, allowed the team to inflate revenues and understate expenses.
Criticism of FIFA's commercial initiatives
The choice of Infantino also coincided with criticism of his commercial initiatives. In July, the head of FIFA proposed creating a company FIFA Forward Enterprise to manage the organization's largest men's and women's tournaments; according to the federation's estimate, the project could attract about $4.2 billion and increase revenues of national football associations, but representatives of football organizations spoke out against it. Earlier, an electronic banner appeared in New York's Times Square demanding Infantino's removal from the leadership of FIFA: participants of the action accused him of abuses in promoting the same project and called on fans to protest during matches and boycott competitions held under the federation's auspices.
Context of the tradition
Bonfire Night commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605, whose participants planned to kill King James I; the holiday is accompanied by bonfires and fireworks, and the main events are often held on the nearest Saturday. The Edenbridge Bonfire Society has organized processions since 1928, and since 1994, in addition to the traditional Guy Fawkes effigy, it has burned figures of famous people — last year such a figure was the then British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
