Gianni Infantino leaves Women’s World Cup for Tahiti after asking fans to respect the tournament

"Today, I feel like..."

Infantino, who famously delivered a completely ludicrous speech of absurdity at last year's World Cup in Qatar, waved goodbye to New Zealand as he boarded a flight to Tahiti.

The FIFA president himself called for the Women's World Cup to be given the same amount of respect as the men's tournament and criticised television broadcasters for not offering enough for rights.

However in a Sky News exclusive, a private jet used by Infantino left Tahiti on July 17, was in New Zealand for eight days, and then returned to Tahiti on July 25.

FIFA would not offer a comment on when Infantino would be back at the tournament which ends in three weeks.

Infantino's controversial move back to Tahiti is in stark contrast to his appearances in Qatar, where he was stationed for more than a year in the build up to the 2022 World Cup.

He said, at the time, that he was largely based in Qatar due to his 'presidential duties'.

During the 2022 World Cup, Infantino said that it was a 'privilege and pleasure to attend all the 32 matches so far."

In New Zealand, he only attended games on the first five days of the tournament.

Many believe Infantino's comments on how 'it's time to respect women' are now quite hypocritical given his apparent lack of interest in this World Cup.