The reasons why UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has boycotted World Cup final: Long list of controversies
The distance between Ceferin and Infantino widened after World Cup and its multiple controversies.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin did not attend the World Cup final in New York/New Jersey on Sunday, that Spain won 1-0, even if he had travelled to the opening match in Mexico City last month.
The relationship between UEFA and FIFA's Presidents is not good, and only worsened after the several controversies of World Cup, none bigger than when FIFA lifted the suspension on USA striker Folarin Balogun in an unprecedented decision, taken after Donald Trump personally called Infantino. That case caused an uproar in the world of football, and UEFA was very harsh on their statement, saying it was "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable".
But there are more differences: some of the most debated referee decisions taken this World Cup, like players being sent off for covering their mouths when talking to rivals, or considering diving in the new "mistaken identity" protocol that caused Switzerland striker Breel Embolo to be sent off in the quarter-final defeat to Argentina, will not be followed in UEFA club or international competitions.
UEFA will also freeze ticket prices for UEFA Euro 2028 to avoid scalping and the huge prices seen this year, is also strongly against the idea of making the next World Cup with 64 teams (the usual was 32 and was increased to 48 this edition), something that FIFA is considering after being requested by CONMEBOL; and when Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entrance to the US, UEFA quickly stepped in and handed him the European Super Cup in August.
