FIFA President Gianni Infantino Formally Receives Lebanese Passport in Beirut
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has officially been presented with his Lebanese passport during a ceremony held at the Interior Ministry in Beirut. The event marks the culmination of a process that saw Mr Infantino granted citizenship through a rare exception to Lebanon's stringent nationality laws.
A Personal and Political Gesture
Married to Lebanese national Lina al-Ashkar, Mr Infantino expressed profound pride and happiness upon receiving the document. "I'm very proud and very happy to be here in Beirut at the Ministry of Interior to finally get my Lebanese passport," he stated in a video recording. "I love Lebanon." He extended his gratitude to President Joseph Aoun, who personally approved the special dispensation required for this acquisition.
This development is particularly significant because Lebanese legislation ordinarily prevents women from passing nationality to foreign spouses and children. In contrast, Lebanese men automatically confer citizenship to their offspring, with wives becoming eligible after a designated waiting period. The granting of citizenship to Mr Infantino and his family therefore represents a notable departure from standard legal protocols.
Infantino's Multinational Status and FIFA Tenure
With this addition, Gianni Infantino now holds triple citizenship, maintaining his Italian and Swiss passports alongside the new Lebanese one. His role as FIFA president spans a decade, having first been elected in February 2016 and subsequently re-elected in both 2019 and 2023.
However, his leadership has not been without controversy. The staging of the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar attracted widespread scrutiny and criticism. Notably, Mr Infantino delivered a lengthy, impassioned monologue ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, chastising Western media for offering "moral lessons" regarding the host nation's treatment of migrant workers.
"We have told many, many lessons from some Europeans, from the Western world," he declared on the eve of the tournament. "I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people."Further controversy has stemmed from his association with former US President Donald Trump, whom he honoured with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the World Cup draw in December. These actions have fuelled ongoing debates about his diplomatic alignments and the governance of world football under his stewardship.
The acquisition of a Lebanese passport underscores Mr Infantino's personal connections to the country while simultaneously highlighting the flexible application of its citizenship laws in exceptional circumstances.
