{"id":23367,"date":"2026-04-28T18:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/23367\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:23:10","slug":"fifa-chief-demanded-same-treatment-as-president-trump-and-canada-refused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/23367\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA chief demanded same treatment as President Trump and Canada refused"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gianni Infantino was denied a substantial motorcade escort by Vancouver ahead of the upcoming FIFA Congress, with the security arrangements similar to how Donald Trump is escorted<\/p>\n

13:37 ET, 28 Apr 2026Updated 13:37 ET, 28 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"Vancouver<\/p>\n

Vancouver refused FIFA’s request for a grand motorcade for Gianni Infantino(Image: 2025 FIFA)<\/p>\n

Vancouver police have refused a bold request ahead of the 76th FIFA Congress on Thursday, after the governing body asked for a Donald Trump-style motorcade for president Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n

FIFA’s member associations will meet in Vancouver on Thursday for their annual congress, with the upcoming World Cup expected to be the main talking point. The 2031 Women’s World Cup is also expected to be debated, with Trump threatening to withdraw the U.S. bid if FIFA’s transgender policy doesn’t change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Infantino has grown close to Trump<\/a> as the World Cup approaches, and even awarded him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup Draw in December<\/a>. However, Vancouver made it very clear that Infantino’s arrival wouldn’t be treated with the same attention to detail as if Trump were to visit the city.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: NBC interrupts NBA Playoffs to deliver news of massive NFL signing<\/a>READ MORE: Cleveland Browns coach flabbergasted by Shedeur Sanders question during NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Global BC News, FIFA asked Vancouver to provide a level-four police motorcade for Infantino at the Congress this week. These drastic security measures are usually carried out for major world leaders or the Pope.<\/p>\n

The level-four escort has permission to ignore red traffic lights and to block off other road users. The request was submitted to the Vancouver Police Department, according to The Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The arrangements are one level below those for the Pope and would match the level required for U.S. presidents. Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, doesn’t even receive that level of escort.<\/p>\n

\"FIFA<\/p>\n

FIFA requested a level-four escort, the same security Donald Trump would receive(Image: Brendan SMIALOWSKI \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Vancouver police refused the request, admitting that its policy wouldn’t be disrupted for the FIFA president. “Any transportation arrangements that are made will be appropriate, measured, and consistent with how Vancouver safely hosts major international events,” a statement from the Vancouver mayor\u2019s office read.<\/p>\n

Granting the request would have led to significant cost implications for taxpayers in the city, which has already been a trending topic ahead of the World Cup. Security budgets have been a concern for residents in FIFA World Cup host cities.<\/p>\n

Ministers in Vancouver have yet to confirm the budget for the World Cup, and have received pushback from rival politicians. Reports of $600 million ($440 million USD) have surfaced, but there is no evidence to support them.<\/p>\n

\"Vancouver<\/p>\n

Vancouver is expected to welcome 350,000 visitors for the seven World Cup games(Image: 2026 Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz)<\/p>\n

It’s estimated that 350,000 people could visit Vancouver this summer, with the city set to host seven World Cup games, two of which will see co-hosts Canada face Qatar and Switzerland. Canada’s opening group game will be against Bosnia at BMO Field, Toronto.<\/p>\n

With a large influx of visitors expected, the city has installed temporary surveillance cameras to enhance security. Blue signs warning of temporary surveillance began appearing near BC Place in December, with 200 cameras to be installed in areas supporting World Cup-related activities.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Host Committee assured residents that the cameras would purely be used for testing until the World Cup begins. Once the tournament starts, the cameras will be operational until they are removed after the World Cup final.<\/p>\n

The committee insisted that the cameras would be used solely for public safety. However, the initiative led to backlash, with some raising concerns about where data goes once it leaves city control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gianni Infantino was denied a substantial motorcade escort by Vancouver ahead of the upcoming FIFA Congress, with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,162,111,3543],"class_list":{"0":"post-23367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-mark-carney","11":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}