When you attend the court of King Donald, it’s important to genuflect. Unfamiliar foreigners in need of pointers can look to the man who is currently the most assiduous non-American flatterer: FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

It’s only natural that, in the lead-up to this year’s soccer World Cup, the president of the global governing body of the sport should make regular visits to the host nation. Yet Infantino has gone above and beyond. He appears to have spent more time in Donald Trump’s orbit than some of the President’s cabinet secretaries.

Infantino has been a willing accomplice in Trump’s campaign to secure the Nobel Peace Prize

Infantino has been a willing accomplice in Trump’s campaign to secure the Nobel Peace Prize

On paper, it would be easy to make the case that Infantino is a textbook globalist. He was born in Switzerland to Italian parents, but recently got Lebanese citizenship. He speaks seven languages. And during Trump’s first presidency, he criticized his travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.

But Infantino quickly recognized the need to ingratiate himself at the dawn of Trump 2.0. He saw Trump at Mar-a-Lago on the Friday before his inauguration – and then attended the ceremony itself, wearing a Trump-esque red tie. “I would like to thank President Trump, with whom I have a great friendship,” he said, “and to assure him that, together, we will make not only America great again, but also the entire world, of course, because football – or soccer – unites the world.”

In the year since, Infantino’s bald head has been spotted at........

© The Spectator