Infantino's comments were made directly in relation to World Cup appearances. It is fair to make the point that since France 1998 there has only been one World Cup (Germany 2006) which has been easily accessible for English fans. At the 2002 World Cup, England played all five of their matches in Japan. Recorded figures show that, contrary to Infantino's claim, there were no England fans arrested at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - an estimated 30,000 made the journey. In Brazil for the 2014 World Cup there were 15 football-related arrests - none for violence - among the 20,000 travelling fans.

Source: BBC January 23, 2026 21:39 UTC