FIFA prez Gianni Infantino says people should chill about Somali referee denied US entry while doubling down on World Cup ticket prices

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.”FIFA priced tickets starting at $140 for the 48-nation, 104-game tournament that starts Thursday and priced regular seats up to $8,680 for the July 19 final in New Jersey.It raised prices for the final to $10,990 and then $32,970.

After criticism, FIFA offered a small amount of $60 tickets to national federations for their regular supporters.He said Wednesday 130,000 tickets were offered at that price, out of 6 to 7 million total.Infantino said the average ticket price was under $500 for the tournament and was comparable to other U.S.

sports during their playoffs, a claim that while true for resale prices does not appear to be accurate for list prices.He 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,” he said.

“We welcome every investigation.”The NBA Finals have had wildly varied get-in prices, ranging from a minimum of about $500 for the first two games in San Antonio to about $10,000 for Game 3 in New York.Game 4 in New York was much less, dropping to about $4,000 on Wednesday.The Stanley Cup Final this year between teams in Las Vegas and Raleigh, North Carolina, has included a get-in price of at least $600 for each of the first four games of the best-of-seven series.Infantino said it was “unfortunate” that Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the U.S.

and said people “should chill.”He said FIFA cannot dictate to governments who to let into their countries, though it is working “behind the scenes.”“We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and to find solutions,” he said.“Sometimes we manage, other times not.”“We don’t live on the m...