Gianni Infantino disregarded a request from a FIFA vice president to abstain from attending an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean and instead made a rare public appearance amidst the global controversy surrounding his failed proposal to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.

Infantino shared images on his Instagram account on Saturday, showcasing his meeting with political and soccer figures from the Dominican Republic during a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament at the Punta Cana resort. Prior to this, Victor Montagliani, the president of CONCACAF, had advised Infantino against attending to prevent drawing attention away from the soccer matches.

Montagliani expressed concerns in an email, stating that the media focus on Infantino’s governance crisis due to the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal would detract from the technical aspects of the CFU youth competition. While FIFA did not comment on Montagliani’s request, it acknowledged its financial support to regional bodies like the CFU.

Montagliani, along with other FIFA vice presidents, including Aleksander Ceferin and Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, has sought to terminate Infantino’s presidency, accusing him of deceptive actions in planning to shift FIFA’s commercial activities to outside investors without transparency.

Infantino abandoned the project on August 1 following widespread disapproval from soccer stakeholders and fans. He has not engaged with the public since the project’s disclosure and avoided questions during the event in Punta Cana. Despite facing criticism, Infantino aims to secure a final term in office through 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress in Rabat, Morocco, with a deadline set for potential candidates to enter the race by November 18.