Cairo, July 18 -- FIFA president Gianni Infantino hit back at Sepp Blatter's criticism of the world soccer body's cleanup operation in Africa as a modern-day form of "colonialism."

Infantino response on Thursday was: "I have to laugh about it."

Blatter, the former head of FIFA who is serving a six-year ban from soccer, described the decision to appoint FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura as FIFA general delegate for Africa for six months as "a new aspect of colonialism" in a statement he provided to the BBC this week.

Blatter said it was also against FIFA rules because national soccer associations are members of FIFA, but continental bodies are not.

"I have to say I'm really puzzled by some of the comments," Infantino said, referring...