Fifa football summit

FIFA President Gianni Infantino: FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee on Friday highlighted the issue of violence against referees and termed it as a “cancer” for football in the summit held for delegates from FIFA Member Associations attending the FIFA Football Summit 2023.

In his impassioned concluding remarks, President Infantino underscored the pivotal role referees played in the sport, labeling them as FIFA's "Team One."

“Without referees, there’s no football,” said Gianni to FIFA. “We all have to fight…against any sort of abuse and violence against referees, but also to bring back respect and tolerance.”