Santiago Canizares has described Morocco as a “very bad opponent” as the dispute over where the 2030 FIFA World Cup final should be played continues to grow.
The former Spain, Valencia and Real Madrid goalkeeper made the comments while discussing the contest between the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid and the planned Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca.
The location of the final remains unresolved, with both venues understood to be competing to host the showpiece match. The issue has attracted renewed attention after The Times reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had offered Morocco the chance to stage the final in return for support that would help him remain in office.
FIFA has rejected that report, describing the information as “false and misleading”. However, speculation over the final’s venue has continued to intensify in recent weeks.
The matter has also prompted calls in the Spanish parliament for Morocco to be removed from the list of countries organising the 2030 World Cup.
Canizares addressed the controversy during an appearance on the Spanish programme El Partidazo de COPE. He said he was not interested in the power struggles taking place at the highest levels of football and preferred to concentrate on events on the pitch.
“Suit-and-tie matters are not something I analyse much, because they bore me a lot,” he said.
The former goalkeeper added: “I am more inclined to watch what happens on the football field.”
Canizares suggested that decisions made away from the pitch could sometimes be influenced by personal interests and ambitions. He criticised “all those people who wear suits and ties and do nothing but look after their own interests and ambitions”, arguing that the wider interests of football should come first.
His strongest remarks came when he turned to the possibility of Morocco hosting the 2030 World Cup final.
“Morocco is a very bad opponent, isn’t it? A very bad opponent,” Canizares said.
He then stressed that political considerations should not be ignored when deciding where an event as significant as a World Cup final will take place.
“Geopolitics also matters,” he said.
Canizares said relations between countries “have a great influence”, an apparent reference to the complicated relationship between Spain and Morocco.
He ended his contribution with another pointed comment about Morocco, saying: “We can already see that Morocco, honestly, is not a country with which we enjoy…” before leaving the sentence unfinished.
The 2030 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will stage the tournament’s opening matches to mark the competition’s centenary. The final venue, however, remains at the centre of the dispute, with the Santiago Bernabeu and the future Hassan II Stadium continuing to be discussed as possible locations.
