FIFA Condemns Campaign Against President Gianni Infantino as ‘Unsubstantiated’

FIFA has strongly condemned what it describes as a “coordinated and sustained campaign” aimed at undermining the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino.

The rebuke comes in response to a recent report by The Daily Telegraph, which alleged that Infantino’s purported romantic partner received a severance payment from UEFA following an affair during his tenure as the European governing body’s general secretary.

In a statement provided to The Telegraph, a FIFA spokesperson emphasized that Infantino “vigorously denies” the accusations, describing them as “completely false.”

FIFA further criticized the spread of “unfounded allegations and demonstrably inaccurate claims,” stressing that “speculation and insinuation must not be presented as fact.”

Infantino’s leadership has recently faced mounting criticism, particularly from UEFA and several European football associations, primarily due to his controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative.

The proposed FFE model involved establishing a new entity to oversee commercial operations and ticketing rights, with plans to sell a 21% stake to a private investor—a move that drew significant concern among European stakeholders.

UEFA has expressed a loss of confidence in Infantino, while Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, publicly urged the Swiss-Italian official to step down.

European football’s governing body has reiterated that its threat to boycott FIFA events remains active, citing a lack of sufficient guarantees that the FFE proposal will not be revived.

“President Infantino was democratically elected by FIFA’s member associations and continues to act under their mandate,” FIFA stated on Saturday.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that certain parties are engaged in a coordinated effort to destabilize FIFA and its leadership. Those lacking backing from FIFA’s member associations should not attempt, through unfounded allegations, misleading information, or insinuations, to achieve goals they have failed to reach through FIFA’s established democratic procedures.”

Criticism toward Infantino predominantly originates from European nations.

In contrast, the Mexican Football Federation has distanced itself from its regional confederation, Concacaf, to voice public support for Infantino.

This stance mirrors comments made by CONMEBOL, South America’s football authority, which asserted it would oppose any attempt to remove Infantino without a vote involving all 211 FIFA member federations.

Additionally, Infantino maintains unanimous backing from the 54 member associations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

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