Sunny Side Up: Explaining the facemask

Sri Lanka Football Federation (SLFF) President Jaswar Umar had apologised to the public over the facemask worn by International Football Federation (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino during his recent visit to Sri Lanka. Infantino was pictured wearing a facemask with the Sri Lankan national flag during a meeting with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. However, following objections raised over the facemask, Umar issued a statement noting that Infantino had worn the facemask with the Sri Lankan flag due to his love and respect for Sri Lanka and no other reason. However, Umar stated that he would apologise to the public on behalf of the SLFF if Infantino’s facemask had offended any person or hurt any person’s sentiment. He also urged the public not to misconstrue it as a political or nationalist issue.