Football's governing bodies UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation have accused FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, of breaking trust "through deception." The accusation was made in an open letter signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations.
The letter states that recent controversy surrounding the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was fundamentally a matter of "the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it." The FFE plan involved creating a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all FIFA competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% of the company to be sold to a private investment firm.
The proposal was ultimately abandoned following widespread criticism from several confederations, with UEFA notably threatening a boycott of all FIFA competitions. "When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned," the letter read.
While the statement did not explicitly name Infantino, sources have indicated to BBC Sport that it should be interpreted as an invitation for him to resign with dignity. This development follows a statement from FIFA on Saturday evening, which strongly criticized what it described as a "concerted and ongoing effort" to "undermine" the organization and Infantino.
The confederations are calling for a review of the FFE proposal to be conducted by a "fully independent third party." FIFA has committed to presenting a report on the matter to the FIFA Council in October.