FIFA boss Gianni Infantino pictured with hair after rant about bullying for being ginger

This is the first picture of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino with hair after his bizarre rant in which he claimed to know how it felt to be discriminated as he was ‘ginger’.

The World Cup boss – branded the World Cup wally after his 60 minute monologue on Saturday – sparked fury when he tried to defend hosts Qatar on the eve of the tournament kick off.

Infantino, 52, sparked a furious backlash with his ludicrous outburst where he said:’ I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay. I feel disabled. I feel a migrant worker.’

He added he knew what it was like to be discriminated because he was ‘bullied for his red hair and freckles as a child’.

The picture of Swiss born Infantino was taken at a family gathering and given to a local news programme in his home country for a documentary after he was appointed president of FIFA in 2016.

The World Cup boss – branded the World Cup wally after his 60 minute monologue on Saturday – sparked fury when he tried to defend hosts Qatar on the eve of the tournament

In the item his cousin Renato Vitetta even revealed his mother had nicknamed him ‘little rebel’ as he grew up in the Swiss town of Brig close to the Italian border where his father worked at the railway station.

He added:’ I remember when we used to go back to Italy to visit relatives in Reggio Calabria we would play football on the beach which was his favourite sport and he would get told off because we would sometimes hit a wayward ball towards a holidaymakers. Let’s just say he wasn’t the best player.

‘He was always lively and he enjoyed having fun and I remember his mop of red hair and his mother nicknamed him ‘little rebel’, he was always good fun to be with.’

But father of four Infantino’s sense of ‘fun’ has been questioned in recent days after growing criticism of Qatar as the World Cup venue because of its appalling human rights record.

Being gay in Qatar is illegal and thousands of migrant workers have died in the run up to the tournament in construction site accidents at stadiums built for the month long football extravaganza.

In his speech Infantino stunned the world blasting European ‘hypocrisy’ for not welcoming more migrants to their countries – despite Qatar paying workers just 35p an hour.

Hitting back he had said: ‘I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.’

He then went on to say the Qatari royal family – who u-turned last week an banned the sale of alcohol at stadiums – as a shining example to the world.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said of the jaw dropping rant: ‘It’s absolutely appalling. I have no doubt he was pressured by the Qataris to say this.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said of the jaw dropping rant: ‘It’s absolutely appalling. I have no doubt he was pressured by the Qataris to say this.’ 

In Infantino’s extraordinary speech, ahead of this afternoon’s opening ceremony, he declared he ‘feels disabled, gay and like a migrant worker’ and knew what it was like to be discriminated against because he was bullied for his red hair and freckles as a child

‘He has given in to their demands and is colluding with the tyrannical regime. FIFA is now little more than a mouthpiece for the Qatari despots. It is giving cover for a sexist. Homophobic and racist dictatorship.’

While Lee Anderson, Conservative MP for Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, said: ‘I had red hair and freckles as a child. This guy needs to grow up and get a grip. Instead of apologising for the next 3,000 years, the rest of the world should be thanking the UK for leading the way. This great country of ours has been a gift to the world. So he can ‘do one’.’

Speaking to MailOnline, Infantino’s cousin Renato, said: ‘He never told me when we were growing up that he was bullied at school but I can see where Gianni was coming from when he said what he did.

‘I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for [the] next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people,’ said Infantino (pictured at the Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park)

‘You have to remember that at that time he was growing up he was the son of Italian migrants and he had ginger hair and stood out at bit, back in the those days when he was a child, Italian migrants weren’t seen in the best possible light but thankfully things have changed.

‘This World Cup was awarded to Qatar before Gianni was appointed president but I know that he would think just one death for building a stadium would upset him, let alone as many as they say there has been.

‘He would want us to respect each other and to now just focus on the football and not on the politics and I really believe he is the best person for the job because he has turned FIFA around from where it was when he was appointed.’