FIFA's director of media relations came out as gay during a press conference ahead of the World Cup 2022 as he defended the football organisation's president Gianni Infantino.
Bryan Swanson, a former reporter for Sky Sports and ITV Tyne Tees, sat alongside Infantino during a briefing on Saturday as the FIFA boss made comments that sparked criticism, including declaring "I feel gay" and saying that Europe was in no position to "give moral lessons". Swanson assured that "everybody is welcome" in Qatar, insisting that FIFA is "inclusive".
FIFA has been heavily criticised for allowing Qatar to host the 2022 tournament due to the country's human rights record, including its treatment of migrant workers and LGBTQ+ people. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and can result in fines and up to seven years' imprisonment, though host authorities have stated that "everyone is welcome" at the World Cup.
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Gianni Infantino took aim at critics during an hour-long monologue to the press, saying that people in Europe should "look at ourselves" before criticising Qatar. He said: "I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people."
The FIFA boss was also criticised across social media for the way he started off his speech. "Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel [like] a migrant worker," Infantino said, comparing himself to these groups and saying he understood "what it means to be discriminated" as he told the press conference that he was bullied at school because of his red hair and freckles.
Swanson stepped in to defend Infantino at the end of the briefing, telling reporters that he had seen the "private side" of the president as he revealed his own personal story. "I am sitting here, in a privileged position on a global stage, as a gay man here in Qatar," he told the audience.
"We have received assurances that everybody is welcome, and I believe that everybody will be welcome in this World Cup. Just because Gianni Infantino is not gay, does not mean that he doesn't care.
"He does care," Swanson insisted. "You see the public side, I see the private side, and we have spoken on a number of occasions about this."
The presenter continued: "We care at FIFA about everyone. We are an inclusive organisation. I have a number of gay colleagues.
"So sitting here, I'm fully aware of the debate and I full respect everyone's right and everyone's opinions to think different. I get it. But I also know what we stand for - and when he [Infantino] says we are inclusive, he means it."
When taking questions from reporters, Infantino assured: "Everyone is welcome. If you are a person who says the opposite, it is not the opinion of the country and certainly not of FIFA.
"Everyone who comes is welcome, whatever religion, race, sex orientation, belief she or he has. This was our requirement and the Qatari state sticks to that requirement."
The assurances come days after an ambassador for the World Cup referred to homosexuality as "damage in the mind". During an interview with German TV broadcaster ZDF that was cut short, former Qatari international footballer Khalid Salman said: "They have to accept our rules here."
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