Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, has claimed that taking a selfie next to Pele’s open casket while the Brazilian football legend was being laid to rest this week was solely for the sake of helping.
When Pele’s body was laid out in the middle of the field at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos, Infantino was one of the thousands who came to pay their condolences. The location is the home of the club where Pele spent the lion’s share of his illustrious career.
However, Infantino was accused of disrespect as pictures of him smiling while taking a selfie with Pele’s coffin in the background began to spread online. The FIFA president responded to the criticism on Tuesday by posting a statement on Instagram in which he clarified that he had only done so in order to fulfil a request for a photo from Pele’s family and former teammates.
“I am dismayed having been informed that I am apparently being criticized by some people for having taken a selfie and pictures at the ceremony yesterday,” Sharing pictures from the funeral, Infantino wrote.
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“I would like to clarify that I was both honored and humbled that teammates and family members of the great Pele asked me if I could take a few photos with them. And obviously I immediately agreed.
“In the case of the selfie, Pele’s teammates asked to do a selfie of all of us together, but they didn’t know how to do it. So, to be helpful, I took the phone of one of them and took the photo of all of us for him,” added the FIFA chief.
“If being helpful to a teammate of Pele creates criticism, I’m happy to take it and will continue to be helpful wherever I can to those having contributed to write legendary pages of football.”
Infantino was adamant that he would. “never do anything that would be disrespectful in any way whatsoever,” and argued that any criticism was based on a lack of context or understanding of the situation.
“I hope that those who published or said things without knowing and without seeking information could have the decency and courage to admit they were wrong and correct what they said,” added Infantino.
The president of FIFA reiterated his appeal to all of the group’s member associations to dedicate a stadium or other location to Pele, emphasising that FIFA will rename the field at its Zurich headquarters in honour of the three-time World Cup champion.
Following a battle with colon cancer, Pele passed away at the age of 82 last Thursday in a hospital in Sao Paulo. Brazil and other countries experienced a wave of mourning upon his passing, with many remembering the football legend as the best player to ever play the sport.
In order to allow mourners to pay their respects, Pele’s remains lay in state at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on Monday and Tuesday before being driven through the city on the back of a fire truck and interred in a private ceremony at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica vertical cemetery.
Pele’s casket will be entombed in a mausoleum that is styled after a football stadium and displays pictures of his brilliant career.
