A curious video of FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivering a speech surfaced on YouTube on April 2, 2023.
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The title in Indonesian exclaims, "Sensational news -- Indonesia secures a spot in the U20 World Cup thanks to this development," which refers to the forthcoming FIFA Under-20 World Cup slated to commence on May 20, 2023.
Interestingly, the Indonesian subtitles in the video allude to an alleged prohibition on Israel's participation in the tournament, reportedly declared by Infantino.
As Infantino speaks to the camera in English, the video's Indonesian subtitles suggest that he stated, "The conditions of the Palestinians sadden me due to Israel's heinous actions last night. Hence, Israel deserves to be banned from the World Cup right now."
At the 21 seconds mark, an Indonesian male narrator can be heard stating that "Israel has been banned by FIFA. Indonesia's U20 team has replaced the position of Israel's U20 team in the U20 World Cup in 2023..."
"This followed an incident of the Israeli forces' attack on the Faisal al-Husseini Stadium. It happened during a 2023 Palestian league cup final match between Jabal al-Mukaber vs Balata FC."
On March 29, 2023, FIFA announced that Indonesia would no longer host the 2023 Under-20 World Cup due to political unrest in the Southeast Asian nation over Israel's inclusion in the tournament.
At present, there are no formal diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Israel, and given the widespread support for the Palestinian cause in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, there is strong local resistance to hosting the Israeli team.
The original video was uploaded in 2019, in which Infantino said: "OK, so hello everybody in Indonesia. I'm very happy to send you a short message. Even though I'm not there with you physically, I'm there with you with all my heart. I know that Indonesia is not just a great country, but also a great football country."
There was no mention of Israel whatsoever. However, in the edited version, Indonesian subtitles were added, in which Infantino supposedly proclaims Israel's exclusion from the upcoming tournament.