Fifa has accused Uefa of mounting a “smear campaign against it and its leadership” as the dispute over Gianni Infantino’s abandoned plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights escalates in the courts.
Uefa filed legal papers in the United States last week seeking access to evidence and documents held by Fifa. The request forms part of possible criminal proceedings in Switzerland concerning the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme.
In its filings, Uefa accused Infantino of “criminal mismanagement” and alleged that a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by [him] for his own benefit” had been attached to the project.
Fifa has now challenged Uefa’s application in court documents lodged in the US and seen by BBC Sport. It is asking for permission to access the material to be delayed, or for Uefa’s request to be rejected by the end of the month.
The world governing body argues that Uefa’s case “suffers from a fundamental defect” and contains “legal deficiencies”.
“Uefa seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that Uefa admittedly lacks the authority to initiate. Despite that threshold problem, Uefa asks this court to authorise sweeping discovery about the FFE.”
Fifa said it had “made clear” that FFE was “only a proposal”. It added that the scheme could have gone ahead only if a majority of its member associations supported it and “the relevant approvals of the Fifa Council” were secured.
“Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issued a press release – the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership,” Fifa said in its filing.
It also alleged that Uefa’s opposition was driven by an “economic motivation” to stop smaller countries gaining the “financial strength to compete with the European elite”.
“If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces Uefa’s market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments,” Fifa said.
“By raising funds to allow some of Fifa’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.”
Uefa has declined to comment publicly. However, BBC Sport has been told that people close to the European governing body believe Fifa should release the documents and accelerate the legal process if it has nothing to hide.
Uefa has led opposition to Infantino, who is facing calls to resign from three confederations.
The organisation has separately asked a New York court to approve a legal order requiring testimony and documents from venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and his company Thrive Eternal. Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was expected to be the lead investor in FFE.
Thrive had held discussions with Infantino about investing $4.2bn (£3.1bn) in return for a 20% stake in a new Fifa commercial subsidiary. The proposal was abandoned days after it became public in July following a major backlash.
Fifa said at the time that FFE could have increased the amount distributed to each national association during the 2027-2030 cycle from £5.9m to £14.7m.
Kushner said on Sunday that he regretted becoming involved in the project.
“While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to… had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”
Uefa is also seeking documents from American financier Greg Maffei, who acted as a key adviser on the proposed deal.
The European governing body says neither Kushner nor Maffei is expected to become a defendant in any legal proceedings. However, it claims they first discussed the FFE concept in July 2025 and that Infantino had “been discussing the underlying concept with Kushner for nearly a year before the terms sheet was ultimately signed”.
Uefa’s lawyers further argue that the World Cup was deliberately undervalued at about £15bn. They describe that figure as “a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer”.
Uefa also claims Infantino failed to consult Fifa’s hierarchy before pursuing the investment plan.
