UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin was not present at the FIFA World Cup final due to a series of disagreements with FIFA over disciplinary decisions, refereeing, and tournament organization. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters, reports UNN.
Details
One of the main reasons for the conflict was FIFA's decision to cancel the automatic one-match suspension for US national team forward Folarin Balogun after his sending off. According to Reuters, UEFA stated that FIFA had "crossed a red line."
Another point of contention was the denial of entry to the United States for Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, which prevented him from officiating World Cup matches. He was later appointed to referee the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.
UEFA also raised complaints about the tournament's organization
According to Reuters, European football officials also expressed concerns about FIFA's approaches to matches involving the Iranian national team and a number of organizational decisions during the tournament.
Among these were the introduction of mandatory hydration breaks and an extended halftime interval in the final match.
In the World Cup final, the Spanish national team defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win the world champion title.