Fifa has issued a strong rebuke against what it terms a "concerted and ongoing effort" to "undermine" the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino. The statement comes after a report surfaced alleging Infantino's former lover received a severance payment from UEFA following an affair when he served as its general secretary.
A Fifa spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph that Infantino "strongly denies" these allegations, calling them "categorically untrue." Fifa itself has now denounced "unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims," cautioning that "speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact."
Infantino has faced increasing opposition, particularly from European football associations, largely stemming from his proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative. This plan would have involved creating a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights, with a 21% stake sold to a private investment firm. UEFA has publicly stated it has lost confidence in Infantino, and Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, has called for his resignation.
UEFA has indicated its threat to boycott Fifa events remains active, citing a lack of assurances that the FFE plan cannot be revived. "The Fifa president was democratically elected by Fifa's Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate," Fifa stated on Saturday. "It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine Fifa and its president. Those who do not have the support of Fifa's member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa's established democratic processes."
The opposition to Infantino is predominantly centered in Europe. However, the Mexican Football Federation has broken ranks with its regional body, Concacaf, to express support for Infantino. This mirrors a stance taken by CONMEBOL, South America's governing body, which stated it would reject any move to remove Infantino without a vote encompassing all 211 Fifa member countries. Additionally, Infantino has garnered unanimous backing from the 54 nations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).