Swiss International Federation President Gianni Infantino expressed his dissatisfaction with the criticism he received for what was described as his lack of “respect” for the occasion after he took a selfie at Pele’s funeral on Monday.
“I am shocked to hear that some seem to be criticizing me for taking selfies and photos during the ceremony,” Infantino wrote on Instagram. He added, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Pele and the ceremony and I would not have dared do anything that could be disrespectful.”
In addition to Infantino, who was holding the mobile phone to take the picture, three people stood under the large white tent, which hosts Pele’s coffin, including Manuel Maria, one of Pele’s close friends.
“I was honored and touched that my colleagues and the great Pele’s family asked me to take a picture with them,” Infantino added. “Pele’s team asked me to take a selfie of all of us but they didn’t know how. To be helpful, I took someone’s phone and took a picture of all of us.”
The body of Brazilian football legend Pele arrived on Tuesday to his final resting place, to a huge cemetery in the city of Santos overlooking the stadium, to which more than 230,000 people flocked from all over Brazil in a solemn farewell to the player whom many consider the greatest in the history of round ball.
The Brazilian people’s latest tribute to the “king” ended with a four-hour procession through the streets of the coastal city 75 kilometers from São Paulo where Pele was buried in the world’s highest vertical cemetery, according to the Guinness Book of Records. During Pele’s funeral, more than 230,000 people attended his open funeral, which lasted for more than 24 hours.