[FIFA Accuses UEFA of Lying Smear Campaign Against Gianni Infantino]
FIFA alleges that UEFA has launched a “smear campaign” against its president, Gianni Infantino, amid legal battles over the aborted initiative to sell a portion of the World Cup rights to private investors.
UEFA has filed suit in American courts to obtain relevant evidence and has threatened criminal prosecution against Mr. Infantino in Swiss courts — where FIFA’s headquarters reside.
In a New York court reply, FIFA asserted, “While these motions bear the form of legal pleadings with docket numbers, they amount to press releases that bolster UEFA’s smear effort against FIFA and its leadership.”
UEFA seeks to remove Mr. Infantino from power either through a forced resignation or via the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March.
Legal counsel representing FIFA highlighted a fundamental flaw: “The application seeks discovery regarding an alleged foreign criminal matter that UEFA has not authorized,” the firm stated.
Defenders of the World Cup‑sale concept, expressed by senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, describe the $20 billion venture as a “poor deal” for football if Infantino defers the position, according to a Sky News report.
A previous disclosure indicated plans to provide up to $4.2 billion to private investors pending approval by member associations and the governing council. FIFA contests this, arguing the offer was merely a proposal awaiting formal endorsement, stressing that UEFA acted in self‑interest to protect its principal competitions and urging disputes to be resolved democratically outside the courts.
“Rather than join that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release—the genesis of a week‑long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York reads.
The fallout escalated during a reporting trip to the Dominican Republic, where Sky News interviewed Infantino after his World Cup sales plan collapsed under pressure from multiple confederations, including UEFA.
