FIFA issued a statement on Saturday denouncing what it called a concerted and continuous effort by some to undermine the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino, amid the fallout from an abandoned plan to open the institution to private investors.
Infantino, who is running for his own succession as FIFA president in 2027, has faced heavy criticism, particularly from UEFA, which on Thursday maintained its threat to boycott World Cups, saying the withdrawal of the controversial investment plan was not enough.
The Italian-Swiss official has found no respite since his plan to open FIFA to private investors collapsed. He is currently the only declared candidate for the presidency and needs a majority of the institution's 211 member votes to be reelected in March for a four-year term in the role he has held since 2016.
Favoritism accusations
The latest blow came Friday, when the Telegraph reported that Infantino, who served as UEFA secretary general from 2009 to 2016, had used his power to secure the promotion of an employee with whom he had an intimate relationship. Infantino has categorically denied the report.
The British newspaper, which did not cite its sources, reported that the employee, after being promoted for a time at UEFA, received a six-figure severance payment when she left, in an unspecified year, along with payment of school fees at a business school worth about 50,000 euros, or 57,800 dollars.
Contacted by AFP, the European confederation confirmed that a payment was made at the time, along with the settlement of expenses for an MBA program at a local business school.
Without mentioning the report, FIFA said in its Saturday statement that recent reporting had included unfounded claims and clearly false assertions about FIFA and its president. It said speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact, and that repetition does not turn an accusation into truth.
Support from Conmebol and CAF
FIFA opened its statement by recalling the support it has received from the South American confederation, Conmebol, and the African confederation, CAF, stressing that it will not support, facilitate or tolerate any process related to the election of the FIFA president that is incompatible with its statutes.
FIFA said those who do not have the backing of its member associations should not try to achieve through accusations, insinuations or disinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA's established democratic processes.
The firm response came four days after a crisis meeting in Morocco that concluded with the leadership's full support for Infantino and an apology for errors in the decision-making around the privatization project. FIFA said it had not intended for the Council or member associations to feel excluded from a process that should have been handled differently.
Boycott threat and resignation call
That was not enough. A day later, UEFA reiterated its boycott of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, citing a loss of confidence in Infantino.
Infantino retained the backing of CAF and on Friday traveled to Cali, Colombia, to attend the inauguration of far-right leader Abelardo de la Espriella as Colombia's president, where he found support from Conmebol. Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez, of Paraguay, told a local outlet in Cali that Infantino's substantial work could not be ignored and that football needed to keep moving forward through dialogue, adding that people do not always have to agree.
Hours earlier, the Norwegian Football Federation, a leading voice of criticism against Infantino for several years, called for his resignation. Federation president Lise Klaveness, seen by some observers as a potential candidate to succeed him, announced the call.
