UEFA says it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s leadership of FIFA after the governing body abandoned a controversial proposal to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors.
Infantino announced on Saturday that FIFA would no longer pursue the investment plan, following strong opposition from UEFA and other football authorities.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, had previously voted to boycott World Cups if the proposal went ahead. Several other governing bodies also criticised the plans and expressed their opposition.
After FIFA withdrew the proposal, UEFA welcomed the decision and described it as “a victory for the whole game”. However, its statement also accused Infantino of failing to honour commitments he made while campaigning to become FIFA president in 2016.
“The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” UEFA’s statement read.
The dispute has placed Infantino under significant pressure as he prepares to seek re-election for a fourth term as FIFA president at the FIFA Congress in March.
UEFA pointed to remarks Infantino made during his 2016 campaign, when he appealed to FIFA’s member associations for their support and promised greater transparency.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s member associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said: ‘Of course we have to be transparent.’
“He told the assembled stakeholders: ‘The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.’
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back-room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.”
The investment proposal had intensified tensions between FIFA and UEFA, with the European organisation taking the exceptional step of threatening a boycott of World Cups if the plan was approved.
UEFA’s response came after Infantino confirmed that FIFA had abandoned the proposal. The decision was welcomed by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who had become the first leader of a major country to call for Infantino to resign.
Burnham said FIFA had made “the right decision” by backing down.
The collapse of the plan marks a major setback for Infantino as he attempts to secure another term in office. UEFA’s public criticism means the controversy will remain a significant issue ahead of the FIFA Congress in March, where the election for the FIFA presidency will take place.
